林肯(1809～1865年)

Lincoln, Abraham

美国第十六任总统（1861～1865）。出生於肯塔基州霍金维尔一栋圆木小屋，1816年迁居印第安那州，1830年又搬到伊利诺州。他曾当过店员、劈木人、邮政局长和测量员，後来加入黑鹰战争中的志愿军，成为指挥官。虽然大多自学，却在伊利诺州春田执律师业，并在州议会任职（1834～1840）。他代表辉格党人当选众议院议员（1847～1849）。1849起担任巡回律师，成为全国最成功的律师之一，因精明、有常识、诚实（获得「诚实亚伯」的绰号）而闻名。1856年加入共和党，1858年党提名他为参议员选举候选人。在与道格拉斯的连续七场辩论（即林肯-道格拉斯辩论）中，他陈言反对把奴隶制度扩展到西部准州，尽管他并不反对奴隶制度本身。虽然他在道德上反对奴隶制，却不是一位废奴主义者。选战期间，林肯试图反击道格拉斯说他是一个危险的激进分子，他向大众一再保证不赞同让黑人获得政治的平等权利。尽管他输了选举，这些辩论却使他闻名全国。1860年他在总统大选中与道格拉斯再度对垒，结果打了一次大胜仗。但是，南方反对他对准州奴隶制的立场，而在他就任前，南方七州退出联邦。他的整个任期都耗在随後发生的美国南北战争当中。他是优秀的战时领袖，发挥了高度的指挥能力，调度全国的能源及资源以备战，并以有些算是军事天分的能力把治国政策与全面的军队指挥权结合起来。然而，他废除了某些公民自由权，特别是人身保护令，他的将领又关闭了几家报纸，使民主党和共和党人感到不安，包括他自己的一些阁员。为了团结北方并影响国外舆论，他发表了「解放宣言」（1863），而盖茨堡演说（1863）把战争的目标崇高化了。战事的拖延影响了北方人的决心，而他的连任选情并不乐观，但策略性的战役胜利扭转了局势，让他在1864年轻松打败麦克莱伦。他的政见包括通过宣告奴隶制为非法的「第十三号修正案」（1865年批准）。第二次就职时，由於胜利在望，他温和地谈到重建南方并建立和谐的联邦。战争结束後五天（4月14日），他被布思射杀。

English version：

1809～1865年

Lincoln, Abraham

16th president of the U.S. (1861-65). Born in a log cabin in Hodgenville, Ky., he moved to Indiana in 1816 and to Illinois in 1830. He worked as a storekeeper, rail-splitter, postmaster, and surveyor, then enlisted as a volunteer in the Black Hawk War and became a captain. Though largely self-taught, he practiced law in Springfield, Ill., and served in the state legislature (1834-40). He was elected as a Whig to the U.S. House of Representatives (1847-49). As a circuit-riding lawyer from 1849, he became one of the state's most successful lawyers, noted for his shrewdness, common sense, and honesty (earning the nickname “Honest Abe”). In 1856 he joined the Republican Party, which nominated him as its candidate in the 1858 Senate election. In a series of seven debates with Stephen A. Douglas (the Lincoln-Douglas Debates), he argued against the extension of slavery into the territories, though not against slavery itself. Although morally opposed to slavery, he was not an abolitionist. During the campaign, he attempted to rebut Douglas' charge that he was a dangerous radical by reassuring audiences that he did not favor political equality for blacks. Despite his loss in the election, the debates brought him national attention. He again ran against Douglas in the 1860 presidential election, which he won by a large margin. But the South opposed his position on slavery in the territories, and before his inauguration seven Southern states had seceeded from the Union. The ensuing American Civil War completely consumed Lincoln's administration. He excelled as a wartime leader, creating a high command for directing all the country's energies and resources toward the war effort and combining statecraft and overall command of the armies with what some have called military genius. However, his abrogation of some civil liberties, especially the writ of habeas corpus, and the closing of several newspapers by his generals disturbed both Democrats and Republicans, including some members of his own cabinet. To unite the North and influence foreign opinion, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation (1863); his Gettysburg Address (1863) further ennobled the war's purpose. The continuing war affected some Northerners' resolve and his reelection was not assured, but strategic battle victories turned the tide and he easily defeated George B. McClellan in 1864. His platform included passage of the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery (ratified 1865). At his second inaugural, with victory in sight, he spoke of moderation in reconstructing the South and building a harmonious Union. On April 14, five days after the war ended, he was shot by John Wilkes Booth.

参考文章

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