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林肯宣布解放反叛各州的奴隶

始于1861年的美国内战是围绕各州的权力而战的。林肯总统最终认为各州没有权力脱离联邦，而且他针对试图脱离联邦的南方各州宣战。林肯宣战的理由只有一个，那就是为了维护国家的统一。然而，在当时，美国人还因为另一个原因而战，这就是为了解放南方的黑人奴隶而战。今天，我们继续向你讲述林肯解决奴隶制问题的故事。

林肯本想将奴隶制问题置于内战之外。他担心解决奴隶制问题会削弱北方为内战所作的努力，很多北方人愿意为国家的统一而战，但他们不一定愿意为奴隶而战。林肯还需要没有脱离联邦的四个蓄奴州：特拉华、肯塔基、马里兰和密苏里州对他的支持，他不敢确信，如果他宣布内战的目的是为了解放奴隶的话，这四个蓄奴州是否还会继续支持他。在开始，林肯能够执行他的这个政策，但随着战争惨酷地继续下去的时候，北方还没有在南方的心脏地区――维吉尼亚取得一次决定性胜利。为了确保人们能够继续对内战的支持，林肯被迫认识到，奴隶制问题实际上是一个十分重要的问题。于是在1862年9月22日，他宣布了针对南方反叛各州奴隶制的新政策，他的宣言就是著名的《奴隶解放宣言》。

美国各大报纸发表了这份宣言。这份宣言指出：我，亚伯拉罕.林肯，美国总统和陆海军总司令，在此宣布，自1863年1月1日起，在南方参加反叛的各州的所有奴隶都将成为，并将永远成为自由人。

美国政府，包括陆军和海军，将有效地保护这些人的自由，对这些人为获得真正的自由而采取的一切行动不予以干涉。出于政治原因，这份宣言并没有解放那些支持国家统一的蓄奴州的奴隶，也没有解放维吉尼亚州的诺福克、路易斯安那州的新奥尔良的奴隶。

绝大多数反对奴隶制的人赞扬《奴隶解放宣言》，他们为此已经等待很长时间了。但有些人则对此并不满意，他们说，这份宣言还远远不够，这份宣言并没有解放全美国的所有奴隶，而只解放了反叛地区的奴隶。林肯回答说：《奴隶解放宣言》只是一项军事措施。他说，他是根据战时军队最高总司令的职责而采取的这项措施，同样这项措施也只在敌占区才合法。林肯承认，所有的奴隶都应该得到解放，这一直是他个人的观点，但他认为美国宪法并没有赋予他解放所有奴隶的权力。他希望奴隶制问题能够在和平时期慢慢地得以解决。

林肯有关奴隶制问题的新政策受到欧洲人的热烈欢迎，特别是英国人。英国人非常关注美国内战。美国海军封锁了南方出口棉花的船只。深深依赖美国南方棉花的英国纺织工业几乎就要瘫痪了，工厂就要关门了，数十万纺织工人就要失业了。英国政府焦急地注视着日复一日的美国内战，最后，在1862年夏末，英国领导人表示，是英国干涉美国内战的时候了，他们将帮助美国解决南北之间的纷争。英国将提出一项基于北方承认南方权利的和平协议，如果北方拒绝这份和平协议，那么英国将承认美国南部邦联的独立。

林肯正在解放南方奴隶的消息传到了欧洲，突然之间，美国内战的性质发生了变化，美国内战不再是围绕南方各州的权利而战，而是围绕人类自由而战。英国人强烈反对奴隶制，当他们听说奴隶将得到解放，他们立即就支持林肯总统和北方。英国的和平协议就再也没有提出。《奴隶解放宣言》断送了英国和法国承认南方邦联的机会。

南方对《奴隶解放宣言》表示非常的愤怒，南方报纸攻击林肯，他们指责林肯试图在他的军队所没有占领的地方发动奴隶叛乱，他们还说，这份宣言鼓励黑人屠杀白人。南方邦联的国会就如何对抗林肯的宣言讨论了好几个决议草案，其中一个是将从北方俘获的所有黑人士兵都当成奴隶。另一项决议草案要求对率领黑人军队的白人军官处以死刑。还有些南方立法议员甚至提议处死所有说要反对奴隶制的人。

在北方，绝大多数人为奴隶的新政策而欢呼。然而，同样有一些人反对这项新政策，他们说，这项政策将引起目前仍然留在联邦的蓄奴州脱离联邦，这些州将加入南部邦联。另外，他们还说，解放了的奴隶将来到北方，这将会抢夺白人的工作岗位，另外还有一些其他原因。1862年是国会选举年。在当时，民主党是反对党，民主党领导人认为，如果他们反对这项新政策，那么他们的候选人将有可能赢得议会选举。民主党人说，这项新政策就是反对奴隶制的极端分子控制政府的证据。

正如我们所说，林肯于1862年9月22日发布了《奴隶解放宣言》，但林肯说，他要等到1863年1月1日才签署这份宣言，这就给南方各州一百天的时间来结束挨叛乱，否则就要摧毁整个奴隶制度。

有些人认为林肯会在最后几分钟里撤回这份宣言，他们认为林肯不会签署这样一份极端的措施，他们说，这项新政策只能使南方更加强硬，其结果是内战会持续更长时间。还有一些人指责说，这份宣言是违法的，他们说，宪法并没有授权总统侵犯公民的私有财产。

林肯回答这些指责，他说：我认为在战争情况下，宪法授予总司令一些特别的权力。退一万步，假如奴隶就是财产的话，那么根据战时的法律，无论是敌人的财产还是友方的财产，如果需要的话，都可以征用。

就在1863年到来的前夕，有一位国会议员问总统是否打算签署《奴隶解放宣言》。“我已经下定决心了，”林肯回答说，“必须这么做，我要推动这份宣言的落实，要摆脱困境别无他途。但，尽管我的职责显而易见，这么做仍然是令人痛苦的。我希望人民能够理解我所采取的行动，不要生气，而是期望未来会更好。”

元旦的清晨对于林肯而言是非常繁忙的，根据贯例，这一天白宫要打开大门，总统要向所有的访问者致以新年的祝福，在最后一名游客离开后，林肯才能走进他的办公室，他要开始签署《奴隶解放宣言》，然而，此时他停下来了，他说：

“在我的一生中，我从来就没有这么确信，我所做的一切会比今天签署这份文件更加正确。但我手握笔一整天，我的胳膊酸了。当人们审视这份文件时，他们会说‘他对他所签署的文件并不怎么了解。’但无论如何，就这么地了。”

说完这段话后，他在这份文件的底端签下了他的名字。他发表了美国历史上最伟大的文件之一。下周，我们将继续向你讲述美国内战的故事。

简评：

主观为统一，客观为奴隶。也许林肯自己也没有想到，他所签署的这份宣言，会给内战、会给黑人、会给整个美国带来如此巨大的影响。

正因为这份宣言，加速了内战的进程。正是因为这份宣言，加快了奴隶解放的进程。正是因为这份宣言，促进了美国的发展。

从这点意义上说，林肯无疑是一个伟大的人，因为是他按下了这一历史的按钮。

Lincoln Declares Slaves Free in Rebel States　　

The Civil War began in eighteen sixty-one as a struggle over the right of states to leave the Union. President Abraham Lincoln firmly believed that a state did not have that right. And he declared war on the southern states that tried to leave. Lincoln had only one reason to fight: to save the Union. In time, however, there was another reason to fight: to free the black people held as slaves in the South. Today, we continue the story of how President Lincoln dealt with this issue. 　　

Lincoln had tried to keep the issue of slavery out of the war. He feared it would weaken the northern war effort. Many men throughout the North would fight to save the Union. They would not fight to free the slaves. Lincoln also needed the support of the four slave states that had not left the Union: Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland and Missouri. He could not be sure of their support if he declared that the purpose of the war was to free the slaves. Lincoln was able to follow this policy, at first. But the war to save the Union was going badly. The North had not won a decisive victory in Virginia, the heart of the Confederacy. To guarantee continued support for the war, Lincoln was forced to recognize that the issue of slavery was, in fact, a major issue. And on September twenty-second, eighteen sixty-two, he announced a new policy on slavery in the rebel southern states. His announcement became known as the Emancipation Proclamation.

American newspapers printed the proclamation. This is what it said: I, Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States and commander in chief of the Army and Navy, do hereby declare that on the first day of January, eighteen sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any state then in rebellion against the United States, shall then become and be forever free.　

The government of the United States, including the military and naval forces, will recognize and protect the freedom of such persons, and will interfere in no way with any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. For political reasons, the proclamation did not free slaves in the states that supported the Union. Nor did it free slaves in the areas around Norfolk, Virginia, and New Orleans, Louisiana. 　

Most anti-slavery leaders praised the Emancipation Proclamation. They had waited a long time for such a document. But some did not like it. They said it did not go far enough. It did not free all of the slaves in the United States, only those held by the rebels. Lincoln answered that the Emancipation Proclamation was a military measure. He said he made it under his wartime powers as commander in chief. As such, it was legal only in enemy territory. Lincoln agreed that all slaves should be freed. It was his personal opinion. But he did not believe that the Constitution gave him the power to free all the slaves. He hoped that could be done slowly, during peacetime.

Lincoln's new policy on slavery was welcomed warmly by the people of Europe. It won special praise in Britain. The British people were deeply concerned about the Civil War in America. The United States navy had blocked southern exports of cotton. The British textile industry -- which depended on this cotton -- was almost dead. Factories were closed. Hundreds of thousands of people were out of work. The British government watched and worried as the war continued month after month. Finally, late in the summer of eighteen sixty-two, British leaders said the time had come for them to intervene. They would try to help settle the American dispute. Britain would propose a peace agreement based on northern recognition of southern rights. If the North rejected the agreement, Britain would recognize the Confederacy. 　

Then came the news that President Lincoln was freeing the slaves of the South. Suddenly, the Civil War was a different war. No longer was it a struggle over southern rights. Now it was a struggle for human freedom. The British people strongly opposed slavery. When they heard that the slaves would be freed, they gave their support immediately to President Lincoln and the North. Britain's peace proposals were never offered. The Emancipation Proclamation had cost the South the recognition of Britain and France.

The South was furious over the proclamation. Southern newspapers attacked Lincoln. They accused him of trying to create a slave rebellion in states he could not occupy with troops. They also said the proclamation was an invitation for Negroes to murder whites. The Confederate Congress debated several resolutions to fight Lincoln's proclamation. One resolution would make slaves of all Negro soldiers captured from the Union army. Another called for the execution of white officers who led black troops. Some southern lawmakers even proposed the death sentence for anyone who spoke against slavery.

In the North, most people cheered the new policy on slaves. Some, however, opposed it. They said the policy would cause the slave states of the Union to secede. Those states would join the Confederacy. Or, they said, it would cause freed slaves to move north and take away jobs from whites. There also was another reason. Eighteen sixty-two was a congressional election year. The Democratic Party was the opposition party at that time. Party leaders believed their candidates would have a better chance of winning if they opposed the policy. Democrats said the policy was proof that anti-slavery extremists were in control of the government.

As we said, Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation on September twenty-second, eighteen sixty-two. But Lincoln said he would not sign the proclamation until the first day of eighteen-sixty-three. That gave the southern states one hundred days to end their rebellion, or face the destruction of slavery. 　

Some people thought Lincoln would withdraw the proclamation at the last minute. They did not believe he would sign a measure that was so extreme. They said the new policy would only make the South fight harder. And, as a result, the Civil War would last longer. Others charged that the proclamation was illegal. They said the Constitution did not give the president the power to violate the property rights of citizens. 　

Lincoln answered the charges. He said: I think the Constitution gives the commander in chief special powers under the laws of war. The most that can be said -- if so much -- is that slaves are property. Is there any question that, by the laws of war, property -- both of enemies and friends -- may be taken when needed.　

Just before the first of the year, a congressman asked the president if he still planned to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. 　"My mind is made up," Lincoln answered. "It must be done. I am driven to it. There is no other way out of our troubles. But although my duty is clear, it is in some way painful. I hope that the people will understand that I act not in anger, but in expectation of a greater good." 　

The morning of New Year's Day was a busy time for Lincoln. It was a tradition to open the White House on that day so the president could wish visitors a happy new year. After the last visitor had gone, Lincoln went to his office. He started to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. Then he stopped. He said: 　

"I never, in all my life, felt more sure that I was doing right than I do in signing this paper. But I have been shaking hands all day, until my arm is tired. When people examine this document, they will say, 'He was not sure about that.' But anyway, it is going to be done." 　

With those words, he wrote his name at the bottom of the paper. He had issued one of the greatest documents in American history. We will continue our story of the Civil War next week.

http://www.21voa.com/path.asp?url=/200910/se-nat-105-8oct09_0.Mp3

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