評論
打印
Many Northerners, who loved the Union, thought that slavery should be confined to the states where it existed. They thought that slavery should not be permitted in the territories, which belonged to the people of the United States as a whole. They argued that if the territories could be kept free, the people of those territories, when they came to form state constitutions, would forbid slavery as the people of California had just done. They were probably right, and for this very reason the Southerners wished to have slavery in the territories. So strong was the feeling over these points that it seemed as if the Union would split into pieces.
許多熱愛聯邦的北方人認為奴隸制應該被限制到已經有奴隸制的州，他們認為在屬于全體美國人民的那些土地上不應該容許有奴隸制。他們還堅持認為，如果保證這些土地上沒有奴隸，當創建州的法律時，這里的人將像加利福尼亞人已經做過的那樣禁止奴隸制。他們可能是正確的，也正是因為這個原因，南方人希望在這些土地上擁有奴隸制。人們針鋒相對，似乎整個聯邦將四分五裂。
345. President Taylor's Policy.
345．總統泰勒的政策
General Taylor was now President. He was alarmed by the growing excitement. He determined to settle the matter at once before people could get any more excited. So he sent agents to California and to New Mexico to urge the people to demand admission to the Union at once. When Congress met in 1850, he stated that California demanded admission as a free state. The Southerners were angry. For they had thought that California would surely be a slave state.
泰勒將軍現在是總統，這日益激憤的情形給他敲響了警鐘，他決定立刻著手解決這個問題，以免矛盾進一步激化。泰勒派出代表去加利福尼亞和新墨西哥呼吁人們立刻申請加入聯邦，當1850年召開國會的時候他要求加利福尼亞作為一個自由的州加入聯邦。南方人非常生氣，他們覺得加利福尼亞毫無疑問應該是一個有奴隸的州。
346. Clay's Compromise Plan.
346．克雷的折中計劃
Henry Clay now stepped forward to bring about a "union of hearts." His plan was to end all disputes between Northerners and Southerners by having the people of each section give way to the people of the other section.
此時亨利·克雷出現了，他帶來一個"心靈的聯邦"。他計劃通過讓各個地區的人們彼此讓步來結束所有的爭端。
