美国学生历史 第182期:南部各州脱离联邦(6)

 377.The "Confederate States of America." 377.“美利坚同盟国”

The next step was for these states to join together to form a confederation. 这些州下一步要聚集在一起组成一个联盟，

This work was done by a convention of delegates chosen by the conventions of the seven seceding¹ states. 他们通过一个会议来完成这项工作，这个会议由7个已经退出联邦的州各自开会选出的代表参加，

These delegates met at Montgomery, Alabama. 这些代表在阿拉巴马的蒙哥马利召开会议，

Their new constitution closely resembled the Constitution of the United States. 他们的新宪法与美国《宪法》非常相似，

But great care was taken to make it perfectly² clear that each member of the Confederacy was a sovereign state. 但是，他们倍加小心地说明联盟的每一个成员都是一个有主权的州，

Exceeding care was also taken that slavery should be protected in every way. 并以最大的小心提出用各种方式来保护奴隶制。

Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was chosen provisional president, and Alexander H. Stephens provisional vice-president. 密西西比州的杰弗逊o戴维斯被选举为临时总统，亚历山大oHo斯蒂文森被选举为临时副总统。

378. Views of Davis and Stephens. 378．戴维斯和斯蒂文森的观点

Davis declared that Lincoln had "made a distinct declaration of war upon our (Southern) institutions." 戴维斯宣称，林肯"显然已经向我们（南方）的制度宣战"，

His election was "upon the basis of sectional hostility³." 他的当选"基于少数人对南方的敌视，

If "war must come, it must be on Northern and not on Southern soil… 如果"战争一定要到来，它一定在北方而不是南方的土地上打响……

We will carry war … where food for the sword and torch awaits our armies in the densely⁴ populated cities" of the North. 我们将支持战争……北方人口密集的大城市在等着我们军队到来，

For his part, Stephens said the new government's "foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man." 那里有备好刀叉和烛光的美食等着他们。"而斯蒂文森则说，新政府的基础和基石在于一个伟大真理，那就是，黑人不等于白人。

379. Hesitation⁵ in the North. 379．北方的犹豫

At first it seemed as if Davis was right when he said the Northerners would not fight. 戴维斯说北方人不会发动战争，开始时他似乎是正确的。

General Scott, commanding the army, suggested that the "erring⁶ sisters" should be allowed to "depart in peace," and Seward seemed to think the same way. 掌管陆军的斯科特将军提议，应该允许"犯错的姐妹""平静地离开"，塞沃德似乎也有同样的想法。

The Abolitionists welcomed the secession of the slave states. 废奴主义者对有奴隶州退出联邦表示欢迎，

Horace Greeley, for instance, wrote that if those states chose to form an independent nation, "they had a clear moral right so to do." 例如，贺瑞斯·格瑞勒写道，如果那些州选择组成一个独立的国家，"他们显然在道德上有权这么做"。

For his part, President Buchanan thought that no state could constitutionally secede⁷. 在总统布坎南看来，按照宪法没有哪个州可以退出联邦，

But if a state should secede, he saw no way to compel it to come back to the Union. 但是，如果某个州退出，他没有办法迫使这个州回到联邦，

So he sat patiently by and did nothing. 因此他耐心地静观其变。

1 seceding   

v.脱离，退出( secede的现在分词 )

参考例句：

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

4 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

5 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

6 erring   

做错事的，错误的

参考例句：

• Instead of bludgeoning our erring comrades, we should help them with criticism. 对犯错误的同志， 要批评帮助，不能一棍子打死。
• She had too little faith in mankind not to know that they were erring. 她对男人们没有信心，知道他们总要犯错误的。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

7 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。