2014英语四级听力练习慢速4.10(2)_大学英语听力

2014英语四级听力练习慢速4.10(2)

　　Howard Jones is an historian. For many years he taught at the University of Alabama. He says the abolitionists did not have much popular support.

　　In the South, slavery was not a question of right or wrong. It was a question of survival. Some southerners believed that without slavery, their whole economic system would lie in ruins.

　　In the North, the abolitionists did not yet have major support. Some feared the abolitionist movement would weaken the rule of law. Even if they did not like slavery, these people believed the Constitution permitted it.

　　As a result of the public feeling at the time, abolitionists struggled to communicate their message. Some states even sought to stop the flow of anti-slavery literature across their borders.

　　In 1836, the House of Representatives declared it would not listen to any anti-slavery petitions. This decision became known as the gag rule. The Senate did not pass such a rule. But it did develop a complex, indirect method to delay action on anti-slavery petitions.

　　Then something strange happened. Historian Howard Jones says some abolitionists believed the event was Gods way of helping their cause.

　　The Mystery of The Amistad Slave Ship

　　In August of 1839, a slave ship appeared in waters off the coast of New York. The ship was carrying two white, Spanish-speaking men and about 50 men, women and children from Africa. The captain was missing.