American History Series: A Failed Attempt to Raise a Rebel Army of Slaves

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1.surrender vt.交出, 放弃, 使投降, 让与

例句：The enemy surrounded the town trying to force them to surrender.
敌人围困了这个城，想逼他们投降。

2.rebellion n.谋反, 叛乱, 反抗

例句：Who triggered off the rebellion?
是谁触发了这次反叛？

3.guilty a.犯罪的, 有过失的, 自觉有错的, 心虚的

例句：The evidences argues that he is guilty, now you have to decide who to believe in.
证据表明他有罪，现在你得决定你信任谁。

4.dispute vi.争论

例句：I don't dispute that...
我毫不怀疑…

5.trial n.审判, 试验, 艰苦, 麻烦事, 考验

例句：Summary judgment means that a court has made a judgment without a full trial.
即决判决指法庭不经完整审判即作出裁决。

6.innocent a.无罪的, 不懂事的, 无知的

例句：I'm very disappointed by the decision because I'm innocent.
那个判决让我很失望，因为我是无辜的。

7.insanity n.疯狂, 愚顽, 精神错乱

例句：In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.
在答辩中，他提出短暂的精神错乱为借口。

8.treason n.叛逆, 不忠, 叛国罪

例句：The weaponeer was sentenced to death for treason.
这个军火专家因为叛国被判处死刑。

1.When Buchanan learned of the attack, he wanted immediate action. He sent a force of Marines to Harpers Ferry, under the command of Army Colonel Robert E. Lee.

under the command of由...指挥

例句：The army is under the command of General Smith.
这支军队由史密斯将军指挥。

2.Brown could not understand the fear that kept the slaves from fighting for their freedom.

keep from阻止, 隐瞒, 抑制

例句：She felt a tingle in her eyes and could hardly keep from shedding tears.
她觉得两眼发酸，泪水止不住流了下来。

3.They held a few hostages whom they hoped to exchange for their freedom.

exchange for交换

例句：Anne wouldn’t exchange with him for anything.
无论他拿什么东西安妮都不愿和他交换。

4.I believe anyone would be perfectly right to interfere with you, so far as to free those you wickedly hold in slavery.

so as to使得, 以致

例句：This insulation is damaged. You should change it for a new one as soon as possible so as to prevent people from being hurt by the leakage of electricity.
这个瓷瓶已经坏了，你们应该尽快更换新的，以免漏电伤人。

5.You may get rid of me very easily. I am nearly gone now.

get rid of摆脱, 除去

例句：This woman moved to another city, trying to get rid of her bad reputation.
这个女人搬到另一个城市，试图摆脱自己的坏名声。

6.He acted in the belief that slaves throughout the south would rise up against their owners and join him.

rise up起义

例句：They will rise up and overthrow the military government.
他们会起来推翻军政府的。

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[00:11.44]Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION 
[00:14.05]American history in VOA Special English.
[00:18.29]In October of eighteen fifty-nine,
[00:21.95]a group of anti-slavery extremists 
[00:25.39]attacked the town of Harpers Ferry.
[00:28.10]Harpers Ferry was part of Virginia then; 
[00:32.09]today it is located in West Virginia.
[00:35.63]The attackers were led by John Brown.
[00:39.38]They seized a gun factory 
[00:41.97]and a federal supply center 
[00:44.63]where military equipment was kept.
[00:47.20]They planned to use the guns and equipment 
[00:51.05]to organize a rebel army of slaves.
[00:54.65]This week in our series,
[00:57.49]Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant tell us 
[01:00.95]what happened to John Brown 
[01:03.20]after he seized Harpers Ferry.
[01:05.78]The president of the United States 
[01:09.11]in eighteen fifty-nine was James Buchanan.
[01:12.81]When Buchanan learned of the attack,
[01:16.40]he wanted immediate action.
[01:18.93]He sent a force of Marines to Harpers Ferry,
[01:23.47]under the command of Army 
[01:25.95]Colonel Robert E.Lee.
[01:28.64]John Brown had attacked 
[01:31.38]with about twenty men.
[01:33.65]Several,including two of his sons,
[01:38.34]had been killed by local militia.
[01:41.58]He and his remaining men withdrew 
[01:45.87]to a small brick building.
[01:48.02]The attack had failed.
[01:51.25]Not one slave had come to Harpers Ferry 
[01:55.98]to help Brown.
[01:57.74]The few whom his men had freed had refused 
[02:03.74]to fight when the shooting started.
[02:06.80]Brown could not understand the fear 
[02:10.91]that kept the slaves from fighting 
[02:14.38]for their freedom.
[02:16.08]Brown and his men were trapped 
[02:19.46]inside the brick building.
[02:21.60]They held a few hostages whom they hoped 
[02:25.82]to exchange for their freedom.
[02:27.29]Colonel Lee wrote a message to John Brown 
[02:32.18]demanding his surrender.
[02:34.57]He did not think Brown 
[02:36.59]would surrender peaceably.
[02:38.48]So,he planned to attack 
[02:41.49]as soon as Brown rejected the message.
[02:44.58]He felt this was the surest way 
[02:47.85]to save the lives of the hostages.
[02:50.14]As expected,
[02:52.17]Brown refused to surrender.
[02:54.71]He said he and his men 
[02:57.57]had the right to go free.
[02:59.70]As soon as Brown spoke,
[03:02.63]the signal was given.
[03:04.36]The Marines attacked.
[03:06.26]They broke open a small hole 
[03:09.57]in the door of the brick building.
[03:11.66]One by one,
[03:13.23]the Marines moved through the hole.
[03:16.01]They fought hand-to-hand 
[03:18.14]against the men inside.
[03:19.94]After a brief fight,they won.
[03:23.60]John Brown's rebellion was crushed.
[03:27.13]A few hours after Brown was captured,
[03:31.84]the Governor of Virginia 
[03:34.16]and three Congressmen arrived 
[03:36.47]in Harpers Ferry.
[03:38.14]They wanted to question Brown.
[03:40.96]Brown had been wounded in the final attack.
[03:45.41]He was weak from the loss of blood.
[03:48.85]But he welcomed the chance 
[03:50.95]to explain his actions.
[03:53.49]The officials first asked 
[03:56.50]where Brown got the money 
[03:59.04]to organize his raid.
[04:01.21]Brown said he raised most of it himself.
[04:05.64]He refused to give the names 
[04:07.62]of any of his supporters.
[04:11.59]Then the officials asked 
[04:15.18]why Brown had come to Harpers Ferry.
[04:18.97]"We came to free the slaves," Brown said,
[04:23.29]"and only that." 
[04:25.34]He continued: "I think that you are guilty 
[04:30.52]of a great wrong against God and humanity.
[04:34.69]I believe anyone would be perfectly right 
[04:38.65]to interfere with you,
[04:40.39]so far as to free those 
[04:43.16]you wickedly hold in slavery.
[04:46.65]I think I did right.
[04:49.99]You had better all you people 
[04:53.60]of the South  prepare yourselves 
[04:56.55]for a settlement sooner 
[04:59.36]than you are prepared for it.
[05:02.44]"You may get rid of me very easily.
[05:06.28]I am nearly gone now.
[05:09.27]But this question is still to be settled 
[05:13.64]this Negro question,I mean.
[05:16.99]That is not yet ended." 
[05:20.23](MUSIC)
[05:33.14]The raid on Harpers Ferry 
[05:35.69]increased the bitterness 
[05:37.51]of the national dispute over slavery.
[05:40.69]Members of the Democratic Party 
[05:43.78]called the raid a plot 
[05:46.33]by the Republican Party.
[05:48.31]Republican leaders denied the charge.
[05:52.27]They said the raid was the work of one man 
[05:56.60]one madman -- John Brown.
[06:00.76]Still,they said,
[06:02.97]he had acted for good reason: 
[06:05.47]to end slavery in America.
[06:08.67]Southern newspapers condemned Brown.
[06:12.99]Some said his raid was an act of war.
[06:16.71]Some demanded that he be executed 
[06:20.18]as a thief and murderer.
[06:22.44]Many southerners said all of the North 
[06:26.63]was responsible for the raid.
[06:29.04]They believed all northerners 
[06:31.86]wanted a slave rebellion in the South.
[06:34.95]And it was such a rebellion 
[06:37.59]that southerners feared 
[06:39.60]more than anything else.
[06:41.82]New measures were approved 
[06:44.48]throughout the South to prevent this.
[06:47.32]Military law was declared in some areas.
[06:51.19]Slave owners threatened to beat 
[06:53.98]or hang any Negro 
[06:56.46]who even looked rebellious.
[06:59.16]The fear of a slave rebellion 
[07:03.31]united the people of the South.
[07:05.70]For years,rich slave owners had talked 
[07:10.74]of taking the southern states 
[07:12.92]out of the Union to save their way of life.
[07:17.29]But those who had no slaves 
[07:20.72]opposed the idea of disunion.
[07:24.72]John Brown's raid changed that.
[07:29.00]After his attack on Harpers Ferry,
[07:32.49]the south spoke with one voice.
[07:35.98]All southerners declared 
[07:38.71]that they would fight to protect their homes 
[07:42.51]from a Negro rebellion 
[07:44.86]or from another attack by men like Brown.
[07:49.71]Feelings were especially high in Virginia,
[07:54.43]the state in which the raid took place.
[07:58.22]Virginians wanted Brown punished quickly 
[08:02.26]to show what would happen to anyone 
[08:05.48]who tried to lead a Negro rebellion.
[08:09.58]There was some question 
[08:12.61]whether Brown should be tried 
[08:15.22]in a federal court or a state court.
[08:19.47]Brown's raid took place 
[08:22.43]within the borders of a state.
[08:24.94]But the property he seized 
[08:27.44]belonged to the federal government.
[08:30.66]The Governor of Virginia 
[08:33.60]decided to try Brown in a state court.
[08:37.32]He believed a federal court trial 
[08:40.88]would take too long.
[08:42.38]If Brown were not brought 
[08:45.73]to trial quickly,he said,
[08:47.20]people might attack the jail and kill him.
[08:51.35](MUSIC)
[09:10.20]Brown was being held in Charles Town,
[09:13.41]a few kilometers from Harpers Ferry.
[09:17.09]The court there 
[09:18.68]named two lawyers to defend him.
[09:22.38]A doctor examined Brown.
[09:24.90]He reported that Brown's wounds 
[09:28.07]were not serious enough 
[09:30.07]to prevent the trial from starting.
[09:32.91]Brown lay in a bed in the courtroom 
[09:35.91]throughout the trial.
[09:37.70]John Brown's lawyers tried to show 
[09:41.61]that his family had a history of madness.
[09:44.91]They tried to prove that Brown,too,was mad.
[09:49.37]They asked the court to declare him innocent 
[09:52.60]because of insanity.
[09:54.82]Brown protested.
[09:57.03]He said the lawyers were just trying 
[10:00.04]to save his life.
[10:01.75]He did not want such a defense.
[10:04.69]The matter of insanity was dropped.
[10:08.13]Brown's lawyers then argued 
[10:11.98]that he was not guilty of the three crimes 
[10:16.21]with which he was charged.
[10:18.39]First,they said,
[10:20.69]he could not be guilty 
[10:23.06]of treason against Virginia,
[10:25.29]because he was not a citizen of Virginia.
[10:29.47]Second,he could not be guilty 
[10:32.77]of plotting a slave rebellion,
[10:35.33]because he had never incited slaves 
[10:38.77]against their owners.
[10:40.56]And third,he could not be guilty of murder,
[10:44.98]because he had killed only in self-defense.
[10:49.66]The trial lasted five days.
[10:53.93]The jury found John Brown guilty 
[10:57.24]of all three charges.
[11:00.49]The judge asked Brown if he wanted 
[11:04.30]to make a statement before being sentenced.
[11:07.56]Brown did.
[11:09.03]He declared that he had not planned 
[11:12.37]to start a slave rebellion.
[11:14.45]He said he only wanted to free some slaves 
[11:19.18]and take them to Canada.
[11:21.04]Brown's statement was strong.
[11:23.93]But it was not true.
[11:26.42]He had,in fact,planned to organize 
[11:30.12]an army of slaves to fight for their freedom.
[11:33.83]He acted in the belief that slaves 
[11:36.65]throughout the south would rise up 
[11:39.72]against their owners and join him.
[11:42.92]Brown's words did not move the judge.
[11:47.07]He said he could find no reason to question 
[11:50.43]the jury's decision that Brown was guilty.
[11:53.96]He sentenced Brown to be hanged.
[11:56.90]One of Brown's supporters attempted 
[12:01.08]to find a way to free Brown from jail.
[12:05.17]Several plans were proposed.
[12:08.24]None were tried.
[12:10.47]Brown himself did not want to escape.
[12:14.68]He said he could do more to destroy slavery 
[12:19.41]by hanging than by staying alive.
[12:23.29]John Brown was executed 
[12:27.29]on December second,eighteen fifty-nine.
[12:31.21]His death created a wave of public emotion 
[12:36.20]throughout the country.
[12:37.95]In the North,
[12:39.31]people mourned.
[12:40.86]One man wrote: "The events of the last month 
[12:45.87]or two have done more 
[12:48.19]to build northern opposition 
[12:50.66]to slavery than anything 
[12:53.55]which has ever happened before,
[12:55.93]than all the anti-slavery pamphlets 
[13:00.14]and books that have ever been written." 
[13:03.21]In the south,people cheered.
[13:07.24]But their happiness 
[13:09.36]at Brown's punishment was mixed with anger 
[13:12.99]at those who honored him.
[13:15.51]As the nation prepared for 
[13:18.67]a presidential election year,
[13:21.18]the South renewed its promise 
[13:24.21]to defend slavery or leave the Union.
[13:28.45]That will be our story next week.
[13:33.10](MUSIC) 
[13:44.70]Our program was written by Frank Beardsley.
[13:48.28]The narrators were Harry Monroe 
[13:51.14]and Kay Gallant.
[13:52.85]Transcripts of our programs 
[13:55.35]can be found along with MP3s,
[13:58.29]podcasts and historical images 
[14:01.38]at www.51voa.com.
[14:05.45]Join us again next week 
[14:08.16]for THE MAKING OF A NATION 
[14:10.34]an American history series 
[14:13.11]in VOA Special English.