THE MAKING OF A NATION - James Buchanan, Part 8

THE MAKING OF A NATION - James Buchanan, Part 8
By Frank Beardsley

Broadcast: Thursday, December 09, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English.

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In the autumn of eighteen-fifty-nine, a group of anti-slavery extremists attacked the town of Harpers Ferry, Virginia. The group seized a gun factory and a federal arsenal¹ where military equipment was kept. It planned to use the guns and equipment for a rebel army of Negro slaves.

The leader of the extremists was an Abolitionist named John Brown.

I'm Kay Gallant². Today, Harry³ Monroe and I tell what happened to John Brown after he seized Harpers Ferry.

VOICE TWO:

President James Buchanan
The President of the United States in eighteen-fifty-nine was James Buchanan. When Buchanan learned of the attack, he wanted immediate⁴ action. He sent a force of Marines to Harpers Ferry, under the command of Army Colonel Robert E. Lee.

John Brown had attacked with about twenty men. Several, including two of his sons, had been killed by local militia⁵. He and his remaining men withdrew to a small brick building. The attack had failed. Not one slave had come to Harpers Ferry to help Brown. The few whom his men had freed had refused to fight when the shooting started. Brown could not understand the fear that kept the slaves from fighting for their freedom.

VOICE ONE:

Brown and his men were trapped inside the brick building. They held a few hostages whom they hoped to exchange for their freedom.

Colonel Lee wrote a message to John Brown demanding his surrender. He did not think Brown would surrender peaceably. So, he planned to attack as soon as Brown rejected the message. He felt this was the surest way to save the lives of the hostages.

As expected, Brown refused to surrender. He said he and his men had the right to go free. As soon as Brown spoke⁶, the signal was given. The Marines attacked.

They broke open a small hole in the door of the brick building. One by one, the Marines moved through the hole. They fought hand-to-hand against the men inside. After a brief fight, they won. John Brown's rebellion was crushed.

VOICE TWO:

John Brown
A few hours after Brown was captured, the Governor of Virginia and three Congressmen arrived in Harpers Ferry. They wanted to question Brown. Brown had been wounded in the final attack. He was weak from the loss of blood. But he welcomed the chance to explain his actions.

The officials first asked where Brown got the money to organize his raid. Brown said he raised most of it himself. He refused to give the names of any of his supporters. Then the officials asked why Brown had come to Harpers Ferry. "We came to free the slaves," Brown said, "and only that."

He continued: "I think that you are guilty of a great wrong against God and humanity. I believe anyone would be perfectly⁷ right to interfere⁸ with you, so far as to free those you wickedly hold in slavery. I think I did right. You had better -- all you people of the south -- prepare yourselves for a settlement sooner than you are prepared for it.

"You may get rid of me very easily. I am nearly gone now. But this question is still to be settled...this Negro question, I mean. That is not yet ended."

VOICE ONE:

The raid on Harpers Ferry increased the bitterness of the national dispute over slavery. Members of the Democratic Party called the raid a plot by the Republican Party. Republican leaders denied the charge. They said the raid was the work of one man -- one madman -- John Brown. Still, they said, he had acted for good reason: to end slavery in America.

Southern newspapers condemned⁹ Brown. Some said his raid was an act of war. Some demanded that he be executed as a thief and murderer. Many southerners said all of the north was responsible for the raid. They believed all northerners wanted a slave rebellion in the south. And it was such a rebellion that southerners feared more than anything else.

New measures were approved throughout the south to prevent this. Military law was declared in some areas. Slave owners threatened to beat or hang any Negro who even looked rebellious¹⁰.

VOICE TWO:

The fear of a slave rebellion united the people of the south. For years, rich slave owners had talked of taking the southern states out of the Union to save their way of life. But those who had no slaves opposed the idea of disunion.

John Brown's raid changed that. After his attack on Harpers Ferry, the south spoke with one voice. All southerners declared that they would fight to protect their homes from a Negro rebellion or from another attack by men like Brown. Feelings were especially high in Virginia, the state in which the raid took place. Virginians wanted Brown punished quickly to show what would happen to anyone who tried to lead a Negro rebellion.

There was some question whether Brown should be tried in a federal court or a state court. Brown's raid took place within the borders of a state. But the property he seized belonged to the federal government.

The Governor of Virginia decided¹¹ to try Brown in a state court. He believed a federal court trial would take too long. If Brown were not brought to trial quickly, he said, people might attack the jail and kill him.

VOICE ONE:

Brown was being held in Charles Town, a few kilometers from Harpers Ferry. The court there named two lawyers to defend him. A doctor examined Brown. He reported that Brown's wounds were not serious enough to prevent the trial from starting. Brown lay in a bed in the courtroom throughout the trial.

John Brown's lawyers tried to show that his family had a history of madness. They tried to prove that Brown, too, was mad. They asked the court to declare him innocent because of insanity¹². Brown protested. He said the lawyers were just trying to save his life. He did not want such a defense¹³. The matter of insanity was dropped.

VOICE TWO:

Brown's lawyers then argued that he was not guilty of the three crimes with which he was charged.

First, they said, he could not be guilty of treason against Virginia, because he was not a citizen of Virginia. Second, he could not be guilty of plotting a slave rebellion, because he had never incited¹⁴ slaves against their owners. And third, he could not be guilty of murder, because he had killed only in self-defense.

The trial lasted five days. The jury found John Brown guilty of all three charges.

VOICE ONE:

The judge asked Brown if he wanted to make a statement before being sentenced. Brown did. He declared that he had not planned to start a slave rebellion. He said he only wanted to free some slaves and take them to Canada.

Brown's statement was strong. But it was not true. He had, in fact, planned to organize an army of slaves to fight for their freedom. He acted in the belief that slaves throughout the south would rise up against their owners and join him.

Brown's words did not move the judge. He said he could find no reason to question the jury's decision that Brown was guilty. He sentenced brown to be hanged.

VOICE TWO:

One of Brown's supporters attempted to find a way to free Brown from jail. Several plans were proposed. None were tried.

Brown himself did not want to escape. He said he could do more to destroy slavery by hanging than by staying alive.

John Brown was executed on December second, eighteen-fifty-nine. His death created a wave of public emotion throughout the country. In the north, people mourned. One man wrote: "The events of the last month or two have done more to build northern opposition¹⁵ to slavery than anything which has ever happened before...than all the anti-slavery pamphlets and books that have ever been written."

In the south, people cheered. But their happiness at Brown's punishment was mixed with anger at those who honored him. As the nation prepared for a presidential election year, the south renewed its promise to defend slavery...or leave the Union.

That will be our story next week.

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VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to the Special English program, THE MAKING OF A NATION. Your narrators were Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley.

1 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

2 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

3 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

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 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。

8 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

10 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 incited   

刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He incited people to rise up against the government. 他煽动人们起来反对政府。
• The captain's example incited the men to bravery. 船长的榜样激发了水手们的勇敢精神。

15 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。