Who Was Abraham Lincoln 林肯 Chapter 9 The War Is Won

In 1864, Lincoln’s first term as president was coming to an end. There was supposed to be an election in November. But was it possible to hold an election during a civil war? Lincoln’s advisers¹ suggested putting it off until the war was over. He refused. “We cannot have free government without elections,” he explained. So a campaign began, although people in the rebel states would not be voting. Lincoln’s opponent was George McClellan, the general who wouldn’t fight. In his speeches, McClellan hinted that he would be willing to compromise to end the war.
Lincoln was not at all sure he would win the election. Many Americans were fed up with the war. They were ready to vote for anyone who promised a quick end. But Lincoln knew that the soldiers supported him. So he made sure they were able to vote.
Then, right before the election, the Union won some huge victories. General William Sherman, who had been trained by Grant, captured Atlanta. General Philip Sheridan, also trained by Grant, won a series of battles in the Shenandoah Valley. And Grant himself was close to taking the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. With faith in the war restored, the voters elected Lincoln to a second term.
By the beginning of 1865, the end of the war was finally in sight. On March 25, Grant’s army captured Richmond. Then he cornered the troops of General Robert E. Lee, the leader of the Confederate army. Lee had no choice. On April 9, he surrendered his army to Grant at Appomattox, Virginia. For all practical purposes, the Civil War was over.
Lincoln was not present for the surrender. The two generals met in a courthouse. Grant was careful to treat Lee generously. He knew that was what Lincoln wanted. The defeated soldiers would not be paraded through the streets or mocked. They would even be allowed to keep their horses. And Grant arranged for food to be given to the starving Confederate troops.
Back in Washington, excited crowds surrounded the White House. Everyone was calling for Lincoln. Tad was given a big cheer when he appeared at the window waving a Confederate flag. Then Lincoln arrived. He asked the band to play the Southern song, “Dixie.” He had always liked the tune², he said, and now the song belonged to the whole country again.
Lincoln had been planning for this day for a long time. Bringing back peace was even more important than waging war. And it was going to be just as difficult. With Lincoln’s encouragement, Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment³ to the Constitution. This amendment would outlaw⁴ slavery everywhere in the United States.
In his second inaugural⁵ speech, Lincoln had said that he wanted to welcome the rebel states back to the Union. But as he spoke⁶ to the crowd outside the capitol building, not everyone was cheering for him. A photograph shows John Wilkes Booth and his comrades standing⁷ nearby. These men were already plotting to kill the president.
JOHNWILKES BOOTH
Booth was a successful actor. Some people called him the handsomest man in America. He was devoted⁸ to the Confederacy and believed slavery was not just good for white people—it was even good for black people. He despised Lincoln, who he thought was rude and uncultured. He was sure Lincoln was destroying the country.
About a month into his second term, Lincoln had a terrible dream. In it, he walked into the White House and saw himself lying dead in a coffin⁹. He asked a guard what had happened. The guard said, “He was killed by an assassin.”
RECONSTRUCTION¹⁰
LINCOLN WANTEd TO WELCOME THE REBEL STATES BACK TO THE UNION WITH OPEN ARMS. AFTER LINCOLN’S DEATH, HIS VICE¹¹ PRESIDENT, ANDREW JOHNSON, TRIED TO FOLLOW LINCOLN’S WISHES. BUT HE DID NOT BELIEVE In EQUAL RIGHTS FOR BLACKS. EVEN SO, CONGRESS PASSED THE FOURTEENTH And FIFTEENTH AMENDMENTS¹², GRANTING BLACKS CIVIL RIGHTS And GIVING BLACK MEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE. THE SOUTH HAD TO BE FORCED TO ACCEPT THEM. TO DO THIS, INSTEAD OF RESTORING THE REBEL STATES TO THEIR FULL RIGHTS, AS LINCOLN HAD HOPED TO DO, CONGRESS IMPOSED A MILITARY GOVERNMENT On THEM. IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF YEARS OF VIOLENCE And RACIAL HOSTILITY¹³. WOULD LINCOLN HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB? WE WILL NEVER KNOW.
ANDREW JOHNSON
Three days later, on April 14, 1865, Lincoln went to a comedy at Ford’s Theatre with his wife and some friends. He and Mary wanted to relax and enjoy themselves. That afternoon he had said to her, “We must both be more cheerful in the future.” At the theater, Lincoln sat in a rocking chair and Mary hung on his arm and flirted¹⁴ with her husband.
John Wilkes Booth learned Lincoln was going to be at the theater. Booth had acted there and knew his way around the building. So he had no trouble getting in and sneaking¹⁵ upstairs to the president’s private box. He crept up behind Lincoln and fired his gun. The sound of Booth’s gunshot was drowned out by laughter from the audience. Booth escaped by leaping dramatically to the stage. This was a showy move he had often used when he was acting¹⁶.
Lincoln did not die immediately. He was carried from the theater to a house across the street. The bed there was so small that the tall president didn’t fit on it. He had to be propped¹⁷ up on pillows. Surrounded by his family, doctors, and advisers, he lay in a coma¹⁸ for nine hours. At 7:22 the next morning, Abraham Lincoln died. He was fifty-six years old.
 

1 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

2 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

3 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

4 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

5 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

9 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

10 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

13 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。

14 flirted   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She flirted her fan. 她急速挥动着扇子。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• During his four months in Egypt he flirted with religious emotions. 在埃及逗留的这四个月期间，他又玩弄起宗教情绪来了。 来自辞典例句

15 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

16 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

17 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

18 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。