参考译文：

林肯在国家危难时刻就任总统

1860年11月，亚伯拉罕.林肯赢得了总统大选，几个月后，他就要就任美国总统，他所面对的是美国历史上最为严重的国内危机。南方各州面对即将到来的威胁，他们最终采取行动，他们开始为了奴隶制而脱离联邦。本周，我们继续向你讲述美国历史上这一最为严重的历史时期。

南方各州不希望亚伯拉罕.林肯赢得1860年的总统大选，林肯是一位共和党人，而共和党是反对奴隶制的。林肯从来没有说过要结束南方的奴隶制，他认为任何人都没有权利这么做。然而，他不希望看到奴隶制向美国其他地方扩散。林肯对南方人说：“你认为奴隶制是正确的，应该扩张，而我则认为奴隶制错误的，它应该受到限制。因此，我想，这件事是很麻烦的，这确实是我们之间唯一的重要区别。”

支持奴隶制的极端分子认为这样的区别就已经足够了，他们确信林肯和他所领导的共和党将很快控制国会和最高法院，他们认为，不久以后，美国宪法将会被修改，奴隶制将在美国任何地方都是非法的。即使不是如此，南方人也担心，除非奴隶制能够在美国其他地方扩散，他们说，南方的奴隶人口实在是太多了，白人与黑人将为控制权而发生斗争，无论是哪一方都可能被消灭。所以，即使在总统选举前，南方人就已经开始讨论亚伯拉罕.林肯如果赢得总统大选后他们该怎么办。

在10月初，南卡罗莱纳州州长威廉.吉斯特（William Gist）就给南方其他各州的州长写信，他说，他们应该就如果林肯当选总统南方人该怎么办达成一致意见。

吉斯特说，当总统大选的官方结果一出来后，南卡罗莱纳州就将召开一次州会议，如果有任何一个州决定脱离联邦，那么南卡罗莱纳州就将紧随其后，如果没有一个州决定脱离联邦，那么南卡罗莱纳州将自行决定脱离联邦。吉斯特州长收到了各种不同的答复。有两个州，即阿拉巴马州和密西西比州表示他们不会独自脱离联邦，但他们说，他们会和其他做出脱离联邦这一决定的各州在一起。而路易斯安那州和乔治亚州表示，他们不会脱离联邦，除非北方对他们采取敌对行动。而另一个州，即北卡罗莱纳州表示，他们还没有决定怎么办。除了南卡罗莱纳州州长威廉.吉斯特外，似乎没有一个南方的州长愿意领导南方各州脱离联邦。

亚伯拉罕.林肯在1860年11月6日当选总统，南卡罗莱纳州得到这个消息后群情激奋。对于许多南卡罗莱纳州的人而言，林肯的胜利就是割断这个州与联邦纽带的信号。对他们而言，这是南方人独立的开始。两名南卡罗莱纳州的联邦参议员辞职，一名联邦法院的法官和联邦税务官员也都辞职。美国的国旗降下来了，代之而起的是南卡罗莱纳州的州旗。州立法会同意在12月17日召开大会，在这次会议上，将就是否脱离联邦做出最后的决定。其他几个南方的州也采取了同样的行动。

脱离联邦这一想法，就像奴隶制一样，分裂了美国的南北方。南方人宣称他们有权和平地脱离联邦，而北方人则反对，他们说，脱离联邦就是叛国，这将导致内战。在林肯就职的前几个月，詹姆士.布坎南总统试图解决当前的困境。首先他提议召开有所有各州参加的大会，这个会议的目的就是要解决南北分歧。布坎南总统内阁中的南方成员反对这一提议。总统的第二个提议是发表一项强有力的政策声明，在这份声明中包括由司法部长提出的一个观点。这份声明说，如果有必要，政府将使用武力确保各州都留在联邦之内。南方的内阁成员同样反对这项提议。

布坎南总统在南方各州脱离联邦问题上不得不寻求一项温和（中立）的政策声明。该声明说，总统将向一个州派遣军队，帮助联邦执政官强行执行联邦法院所做出的裁决，但如果联邦法官已经辞职，那么也就是说在那个地方没有联邦法院所做出的裁决需要强制执行，因此，向一个联邦法官已经辞职的州派遣军队，如向南卡罗莱纳州派遣军队，就意味着向这个州发动战争，而只有国会才有宪法所规定的权力宣布开战。布坎南总统接受了这样的声明，他巴不得让国会来决定怎么办。

让国会来决定什么事的可能性几乎没有。南北方的国会议员各自所做出的决定不能、也不可能轻易地改变。来自一些南方各州的国会议员支持南方脱离联邦，他们不想再留在联邦里了。许多来自北方各州的国会议员，之所以当选是因为他们承诺不让奴隶向西部各州扩散，这此议员不想破坏他们所做出的诺言。还有一些立法议员则希望布坎南总统在他向国会发表年度国情咨文时提出一项妥协建议。

布坎南总统转而开始公开指责北方的废奴主义者。他说，他们应该对目前的困境负责。他说，正是由于他们的干涉，已经造成了南方人对奴隶反叛的巨大恐惧。随后，布坎南呼吁南方接受亚伯拉罕.林肯当选总统的结果。他说，人民选举一个人当总统不应该成为分裂国家的理由。布坎南宣布，宪法并没有授予各州权利脱离联邦，但他承认，如果一个州脱离联邦，这并不是哪个联邦政府所能决定的。布坎南说：“事实上，我们的联邦有赖于我们的民意，它永远不可能通过在内战中公民的流血来维护，如果联邦不能活在人民的心中，那么它早晚有一天会死亡。”

布坎南总统建议国会通过一项有关奴隶制问题的宪法修正案，他说，这项修正案应该承认那些在允许实行奴隶制的地方的奴隶主们将奴隶视为他们的财产的权利，该修正案应该在所有这样的地方保护这种权利，一直到这些地方正式成为美国的州为止。而且，该修正案还应该取消所有各州干涉将逃跑的奴隶返还给奴隶主的法律。没有人赞成布坎南总统向国会提出的这项建议。北方人不喜欢他这份面对南方脱离联邦所发表的软弱无力的联邦政府声明。南方人不喜欢他有关脱离联邦是违反宪法的声明。总统的这项建议对当前局势一事无补。就在这项建议在国会宣读不久之后，南卡罗莱纳州就召开了他们自己的决定脱离联邦的大会。

与会代表就是否脱离联邦将做出最终决定。他们将如何投票没有什么疑义，一个委员会起草了一份脱离联邦的决议。这份决议只是简单地说阐述了：南卡罗莱纳州人民终止了1788年的协议，在这份协议中，该州批准了美国的宪法。该决议说，目前南卡罗莱纳州与美国之间的联邦已经瓦解。该委员会于1860年12月20日向大会提交了这份决议。没有任何的辩论，代表们立即投票，没有一个人投反对票。

南卡罗莱纳州已经脱离联邦了，但什么是现在所必须做的呢？联邦政府在南卡罗莱纳州的财产是一个问题。这个大会继续举行，讨论解决南卡罗莱纳在世界上所面临的新形势新问题。

欲知后事如何，请看下周分解。

简评：

南卡罗莱纳州一马当先，为了能够继续奴役黑人，为了能够继续实行奴隶制，为了能够继续将奴隶视作他们的财产，他们义无反顾地决定脱离联邦。他们脱离联邦的决议很简单，即不再接受美国宪法。

从南卡罗莱纳州脱离联邦来看，当时美国中央政府的软弱是个重要原因。当时总统是詹姆士.布坎南，他没能采取有力措施制止南方各州的分裂活动。在当时，赞同南卡罗莱纳州想法的州并不多，大家都在看。看什么？看中央政府的控制力。当布坎南一个又一个建议被否决，南方各州也就看明白了，中央政府实在是太软弱了。

一个中央政府如果太软弱的话，不仅外国会欺负你，就是在国内，也难保各地不会闹独立。一个国家，在任何地方都可以讲民主，唯有在国家主权、领土完整和团结统一上没有民主可言。任何分裂企图都必须予以无条件的消灭。必须消灭在萌芽之中，否则，将来所付出的代价就太大了。在这个问题上，不要怕别人说什么独裁，说什么暴力，说什么没有人权。一切皆可商量，唯有这个问题不行！

Lincoln Takes Presidency of a Nation in Crisis　

Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election in November of eighteen sixty. When he took office several months later, he faced the most serious crisis in American history. The southern states had finally acted on their earlier threats. They had begun to leave the Union over the issue of slavery. This week in our series, we talk about this critical time in American history.　

The southern states did not want Abraham Lincoln to win the election of eighteen sixty. Lincoln was a Republican. And the Republican Party opposed slavery. Lincoln never said he wanted to end slavery in the South. He did not believe anyone had the right to do so. Yet he did not want to see slavery spread to other parts of the United States. Lincoln told southerners: "You think slavery is right and should be extended, while we think it is wrong and should be limited. That, I suppose, is the trouble. It surely is the only important difference between us." 　

Pro-slavery extremists felt this difference was enough. And they were sure Lincoln and his Republicans would soon win control of Congress and the Supreme Court. Before long, they thought, the Constitution would be changed. Slavery would become illegal everywhere. Even if this did not happen, southerners were worried. Unless slavery could spread, they said, the slave population in the South would become too large. In time, blacks and whites would battle for control. One or the other would be destroyed. So even before the presidential election, southerners began discussing what they would do if Abraham Lincoln won. 　

Early in October, the governor of South Carolina, William Gist, wrote letters to the governors of other southern states. He said they should agree on what action to take if Lincoln became president. 　

Gist said South Carolina would call a state convention as soon as the election results were made official. If any state decided to leave the Union, he said, South Carolina would follow. If no other state decided to leave, then South Carolina would secede by itself. Governor Gist received mixed answers. Two states -- Alabama and Mississippi -- said they would not secede alone. But they said they would join others that made this decision. Two more states -- Louisiana and Georgia -- said they would not secede unless the north acted against them. And one state -- North Carolina -- said it had not yet decided what to do. No southern governor, except William Gist of South Carolina, seemed willing to lead the South out of the Union. 　

Abraham Lincoln was elected president on November sixth, eighteen sixty. South Carolina exploded with excitement at the news. To many of the people there, Lincoln's victory was a signal that ended the state's ties to the Union. To them, it was the beginning of southern independence. Both United States Senators from South Carolina resigned. So did a federal judge and the collector of federal taxes. United States flags were lowered. State flags were raised in their place. The state legislature agreed to open a convention on December seventeenth. The convention would make the final decision on leaving the Union. Several other southern states did the same. 　

This idea of leaving the Union -- secession -- split North and South just as much as slavery. Southerners claimed they had the right to secede peacefully. Northerners disagreed. They said secession was treason. They said it would lead to civil war. In the months before Lincoln's inauguration, President James Buchanan tried to deal with the situation. First he proposed a convention of all the states. The purpose of the convention would be to work out differences between North and South. The southern members of Buchanan's cabinet rejected this idea. The second proposal was a strong policy statement on secession. The statement would include an opinion by the attorney general. It said the government could use force, if necessary, to keep states in the Union. The southern cabinet members rejected this idea, too. 　

President Buchanan had to settle for a moderate policy statement on secession. It said the president could send troops into a state to help federal marshals enforce the rulings of federal courts. But if federal judges resigned, there would be no federal court rulings to enforce. Therefore, to send troops to a state where federal officers had resigned -- such as South Carolina -- would be an act of war against the state. And only Congress had the constitutional power to declare war. Buchanan accepted this statement. He was only too happy to let Congress decide what to do.

There was little chance that Congress could do anything. Congressmen from both North and South already had made decisions that could not, and would not, be changed easily. Most of the congressmen from states in the deep south supported secession. They did not want to remain in the Union. Many congressmen from states in the North had been elected because they promised to keep slavery from spreading to the western territories. They did not plan to break their promises. A few lawmakers hoped President Buchanan, in his yearly message to Congress, might propose a compromise. 　

Buchanan began by denouncing northern Abolitionists. He said they were responsible for the present problem. Their interference, he said, had created a great fear of slave rebellions in the South. Then Buchanan called on the South to accept the election of Abraham Lincoln. He said the election of a citizen to the office of president should not be a reason for dissolving the Union. Buchanan declared that the constitution gave no state the right to leave. But, he admitted, if a state did secede, there was little the federal government could do. "The fact is," Buchanan said, "that our Union rests upon public opinion. It can never be held together by the blood of its citizens in civil war. If it cannot live in the hearts of its people, then it must one day die." 　　

Buchanan proposed to Congress that it offer a constitutional amendment on the question of slavery. He said the amendment should recognize the right to own slaves as property in states where slavery was permitted. It should protect this right in all territories until the territories became states. And it should end all state laws that interfered with the return of escaped slaves to their owners. No one liked President Buchanan's message to Congress. Northerners did not like his declaration of federal weakness in the face of secession. Southerners did not like his declaration that secession was unconstitutional. The message did nothing to change the situation. Soon after it was read to Congress, South Carolina opened its secession convention. 　

Delegates to the convention would make the final decision if South Carolina would remain in the Union or secede. There was little question how they would vote. A committee wrote a secession resolution. The resolution said simply that the people of South Carolina were ending the agreement of seventeen eighty-eight in which the state had approved the Constitution of the United States. It said the Union existing between South Carolina and the United States of America was being dissolved. The committee offered the resolution to the convention on December twentieth, eighteen sixty. There was no debate. The delegates voted immediately. No one voted against it. 　

South Carolina had seceded. But what must it do now. There was the problem of property in South Carolina owned by the federal government. The convention continued to meet to work out details of South Carolina's new position in the world.

That will be our story next week.