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204. Assumption of State Debts.
204．州債務的承擔
A further part of Hamilton's original scheme aroused even greater opposition. During the Revolutionary War the states, too, had become heavily in debt. They had furnished soldiers and supplies to Congress. Some of them had undertaken expeditions at their own expense. Virginia, for example, had borne all the cost of Clark's conquest of the Northwest. She had later ceded nearly all her rights in the conquered territory to the United States. These debts had been incurred for the benefit of the people as a whole. Would it not then be fair for the people of the United States as a whole to pay them? Hamilton thought that it would. It chanced, however, that the Northern states had much larger debts than had the Southern states. One result of Hamilton's scheme would be to relieve the Northern states of a part of their burdens and to increase the burdens of the Southern states. The Southerners, therefore, were strongly opposed to the plan. The North Carolina representatives reached New York just in time to vote against it, and that part of Hamilton's plan was defeated. AN OLD STAGECOACH The house was built in Lincoln County, Kentucky, in 1783.
漢米爾頓最初方案的縱深部分遭到了更為激烈的反對。在革命戰(zhàn)爭時期各個州也背負上沉重的債務，這些錢用于供給士兵和交給國會，有的州自己掏錢資助軍隊出征。例如，弗吉尼亞州就承擔了克拉克奪取西北地區(qū)的戰(zhàn)爭費用，它后來還將在征服地區(qū)的所有權轉讓給國家。這些債務是因為整個美國人民的利益而生成的，那么，難道美國人民不應該作為一個整體來還這些債務嗎？漢米爾頓認為應該如此。然而，碰巧北方各州的債務要比南部各個州多得多，漢米爾頓方案的一個結果將是減輕北方各州的負擔而增加南部各州的負擔。因此，南部各州竭力反對這個計劃，北卡羅萊納州的代表及時趕到紐約投票反對這個計劃，漢米爾頓計劃的這個部分被否決了。
205. The National Capital.
205．國家首都
In these days of fast express trains it makes little difference whether one is going to Philadelphia or to Baltimore-only a few hours more or less in a comfortable railroad car. But in 1791 it made a great deal of difference whether one were going to Philadelphia or to Baltimore. Traveling was especially hard in the South. There were few roads or taverns in that part of the country, and those few were bad. The Southerners were anxious to have the national capital as far south as possible. They were also opposed to the assumption of the state debts by the national government. Now it happened that the Northerners were in favor of the assumption of the debts and did not care very much where the national capital might be. In the end Jefferson and Hamilton made "a deal," the first of its kind in our history. Enough Southerners voted for the assumption bill to pass it. The Northerners, on their part, agreed that the temporary seat of government should be at Philadelphia, and the permanent seat of government on thePotomac. Virginia and Maryland at once ceded enough land to form a "federal district."This was called the District of Columbia. Soon preparations were begun to build a capital city there-the city of Washington.
現(xiàn)在乘坐高速列車去費城與去巴爾的摩沒有多少區(qū)別，坐在舒適的火車車廂中用不了幾個小時就到了，但是，在1791年一個人是去費城還是去巴爾的摩就有非常大的差異，到南部旅行非常艱難，這些地方很少有路和酒館，即使有也很差。南方各州的人迫切希望首都確定在盡可能往南的地方，他們還反對國民政府承擔州債務，此時碰巧北方各州的人支持國民政府承擔債務，他們并不在意國家首都定在哪里。最終杰斐遜和漢米爾頓達成"一個交易"，這是美國歷史上第一個這類交易。有足夠多的南方人投票贊同通過那個債務承擔條例，而北方人則同意臨時政府設在費城，而把政府的永久駐地設在波托馬克。弗吉尼亞州和馬里蘭州立刻拿出足夠的土地形成一個"聯(lián)邦特區(qū)"，這就是哥倫比亞地區(qū)，很快，人們開始在這個地方建設一個首都城市--華盛頓。
