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Although never an abolitionist, Lincoln, a man who had been exposed
盡管不是廢除奴隸者 林肯作為一個自小就曾接觸
to slavery since childhood, was opposed to the Southern slave system.
奴隸制的人 他反對南方的奴隸制體系
Yet the Great Emancipator of the 1860s spent the 1850s
但是1860年代偉大的解放者林肯在整個1850年代
convinced that the political system made abolition impossible.
深信政治制度使得廢除奴隸是不可能的
On the one hand, he always says, This is a moral question ultimately.
一方面 他一直都說 這最終是一個道德問題
He's like an abolitionist in that he says I am morally opposed to slavery, that's the bottom line here.
他和廢奴主義者志同道合 當他說道 我在道德上反對奴隸制 這是底線
On the other hand, as a lawyer, as a politician, he says,
另一方面 作為一名律師 一位政治家 他說
There's not much we can do about slavery, it's in the Constitution.
我們對于奴隸制無能為力 它寫在了憲法中
It's up to the Southern states to deal with it.
應(yīng)當由南方諸州處理這個問題
He understands there is not much you can do about slavery within the political system.
他知道咋政治體制內(nèi)對于奴隸制 你坐不了什么
In America's federal system,
在美國聯(lián)邦體系內(nèi)
it was the individual states and not the national government in Washington that had the power to determine the future of slavery.
是由每一個州而非位于華盛頓的國民政府 擁有決定奴隸制未來的權(quán)力
But in the party politics of the 1850s,opposing slavery, if only in principle,
但是在1850年代的政黨政治中 反對奴隸制 即使是在原則上
was potentially enough to destroy Lincoln's political career.
也有可能毀滅林肯的政治前途
In 1858, Lincoln stood for Congress against his old opponent Stephen Douglas.
在1858年 林肯代表國會反對他的老對手斯蒂芬·道格拉斯
The campaign centred on a series of now famous debates.
這次競選集中在一系列現(xiàn)已青史留名的爭論上
In the city of Charleston, Douglas suggested that Lincoln's opposition to slavery meant that he was also in favour of racial equality.
在查爾斯頓城 弗吉尼亞州首府 道格拉斯暗示林肯反對 奴隸制就意味著他贊成種族平等
