美国学生历史 第180期:南部各州脱离联邦(4)

 The Southern leaders knew all these things. 南方人知道这些事，

But they made up their minds that now the time had come to secede¹ from the Union and to establish a Southern Confederacy. 但他们坚信已经到了脱离联邦建立"南方同盟"的时候，

For the first time all the southernmost states were united. 所有南方各州首次聚集在一起，

No matter what Lincoln and the Republicans might say, the Southern slave holders² believed that slavery was in danger. 无论林肯和共和党说些什么，南方的奴隶主们都相信奴隶制处于危险中。

In advising secession, many of them thought that by this means they could force the Northerners to accept their terms as the price of a restored Union. 在宣布退出联邦时，他们多数人认为通过这个途径可以迫使北方人接受他们的回归联邦的那些条件，

Never were political leaders more mistaken. 但政治领袖们犯了空前的错误。

374. Threats of Secession, November, 1860. 374．脱离联邦的威胁（1860年）

The Constitution permits each state to choose presidential electors as it sees fit. 《宪法》允许各个州根据自己的意愿选择总统候选人，

At the outset these electors had generally been chosen by the state legislatures. 开始的时候这些人一般是通过各个州的立法机关来选出，

But, in the course of time, all the states save one had come to choose them by popular vote. 但是，随着时间推移，除了一个州以外所有的州都渐渐改成通过公众投票来选举总统候选人。

The one state that held to the old way was South Carolina. Its legislature still chose the state's presidential electors. 这个坚持过去方式的州是南卡罗莱纳州。

In 1860 the South Carolina legislature did this duty and then remained in session to see which way the election would go. 1860年南卡罗莱纳州立法院如此提出候选人，并开会研究以后用哪种方式选举候选人；

When Lincoln's election was certain, it called a state convention to consider the question of seceding³ from the United States. 当林肯确定当选的时候，立法院举行一次州会议研究退出美国这个问题。

In other Southern states there was some opposition⁴ to secession. 在南方的其他几个州存在反对退出联邦的情况，

In Georgia, especially, Alexander H. Stephens led the opposition. 特别是，佐治亚的亚历山大·H·史蒂文森力主反对退出联邦，

He said that secession "was the height of madness." 他说退出联邦"是最愚蠢的行为"。

Nevertheless he moved a resolution for a convention. 虽然如此，他提出召开一个会议来协商。

Indeed, all the southernmost states followed the example of South Carolina and summoned conventions. 实际上，南方的大多数州都追随南卡罗莱纳州召开会议讨论退出联邦这个问题。

1 secede   

v.退出，脱离

参考例句：

• They plotted to make the whole Mississippi Valley secede from the United States.他们阴谋策划使整个密西西比流域脱离美国。
• We won't allow Tibet to secede from China and become an independent nation.我们决不允许西藏脱离中国独立。

2 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

3 seceding   

v.脱离，退出( secede的现在分词 )

参考例句：

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。