评论
打印
Compounding Tyler's misery during this period was the death of Letitia.
在此期间，利蒂夏（泰勒妻子）的去世使泰勒更加痛苦。
Tyler's wife passed away in 1842 following a second stroke, one of three first ladies to die while her husband was in office.
泰勒的妻子于1842年因第二次中风去世，她是在丈夫在任期间去世的三位第一夫人之一。
For the second time in two years, the White House was in mourning.
这是两年来白宫第二次陷入哀悼之中。
The Tyler administration's only major success during this period was ratification of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty with Great Britain,
泰勒政府在这一时期唯一的重大成就是批准了与英国签订的《韦伯斯特-阿什伯顿条约》，
which settled a long-running border dispute between the state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick,
该条约解决了美国缅因州与加拿大新不伦瑞克省之间长期存在的边界争端，
as well as was fixing the modern border between Minnesota and Ontario.
还修复了明尼苏达和安大略省之间的现代边界。
But that was basically it, Tyler it seemed had no real policy platform of his own to offer up.
但基本上就是这样，泰勒似乎没有自己的政策纲领。
Everyone knew what he was against but what was he actually for. Tyler himself didn't seem to know most of the time.
每个人都知道他反对什么，但缺不知道他真正支持什么。泰勒自己似乎大部分时间都不知道支持什么。
He irritated even his closest associates with his tendency to waffle back and forth on various issues, changing his mind multiple times, and confusing everyone around him.
他在各种问题上来回摇摆，多次改变主意，让周围的人都感到困惑，这甚至激怒了他最亲密的同事。
By the end of 1843, however, Tyler believed he'd figured out an issue that would cement his legacy as president and might even boost his third party run for re-election--the annexation of Texas.
然而，到了1843年底，泰勒认为他已经找到了一个问题，这将巩固他作为总统的遗产，甚至可能推动他的第三党竞选连任——吞并德克萨斯。
Since 1836, the Republic of Texas had operated as an independent country following its victory in the Texas Revolution over Mexico.
自1836年以来，德克萨斯共和国在德克萨斯革命中战胜墨西哥后作为一个独立的国家运行。
But all along, Sam Houston, the Texan leadership, had been trying to convince the American government to annex them.
但是一直以来，德克萨斯的领导人萨姆·休斯顿一直在试图说服美国政府吞并他们。
Both the Jackson and Van Buren administrations had ignored them, worried that doing so would spark war with Mexico.
杰克逊政府和范布伦政府都没有理会他们，担心这样做会引发与墨西哥的战争。
But Tyler, a firm believer in manifest destiny, saw Texas as a potentially valuable part of the union, and didn't think the Mexicans would risk a war to stop the U.S. from taking over.
但是泰勒是命定扩张论的坚定信仰者，他认为德克萨斯是联邦潜在有价值的一部分，他不认为墨西哥人会冒着战争的风险来阻止美国接管。
He had taxed his fever and set as Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur work on making the annexation happen.
他抑制了高烧，并任命阿贝尔·厄普舒尔为国务卿，着手促成合并。
He faced an upper battle in Congress though with the issue of Texas lying not only on party lines, but sectional ones as well.
然而，他在国会面临着一场上层斗争，德克萨斯州的问题不仅取决于党派路线，也取决于地区路线。
The addition of Texas as a slave state would upset the delicate balance of power, kept between slave states and free states since the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
德克萨斯加入奴隶制州将打破自1820年密苏里妥协案以来奴隶州和自由州之间微妙的权力平衡。
And northern states weren't keen to see the slave power again, an even more dominant position in national politics than they already had.
北方各州也不愿意看到奴隶势力再次出现，在国家政治中占据比以往更重要的地位。
Still, in the first two months of 1844, it seemed like the administration had enough support for annexation in the Senate and a treaty always being worked out with the Texans.
尽管如此，在1844年的头两个月，政府似乎已经在参议院获得了足够的支持，并且一直在与德克萨斯人制定条约。
Then disaster struck.
灾难降临。
On February 28, 1844, President Tyler members of his cabinet and hundreds of other guests took a ceremonial cruise down the Potomac River on board the USS Princeton, a newly built U.S. navy corvette.
1844年2月28日，泰勒总统的内阁成员和数百名其他来宾乘坐美国海军新建造的轻巡洋舰普林斯顿号在波托马克河上进行了仪式巡游。
The ship's captain Robert F. Stockton took great pleasure in test firing a 27,000 pound Naval Cannon nicknamed peacemaker.
船长罗伯特·斯托克顿非常高兴地测试了一门2.7万磅重的海军大炮，绰号为“和平使者”。
For his guests, the gun was fired twice without instant.
为了他的客人，他开了两枪。
But when Stockton pulled the lanyard the third time, the gun barrel exploded , showering the deck with deadly shrapnel.
但当斯托克顿第三次拉绳时，枪管爆炸了，致命的弹片散落在甲板上。
Six men were killed including two members of Tyler's cabinet, Secretary of State Upshaw and Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer.
六人丧生，其中包括泰勒内阁的两名成员，国务卿厄普肖和海军部长托马斯·吉尔默。
Fortunately for Tyler, he was below decks when the accident occurred.
幸运的是，事故发生时泰勒在甲板下面。
Had he been killed, history would have looked very different.
如果他命丧于此，历史将会大不相同。
As without a vice president to replace in, the president Pro Tempore at the Senate, one of Henry Clay's allies would have become president.
如果参议院没有副总统来代替总统，亨利·克莱的一个盟友就会成为总统。
Also killed in the explosion was David Gardner, a prominent New York attorney and friend of President Tyler.
在爆炸中丧生的还有纽约著名律师、泰勒总统的朋友大卫·加德纳。
Daughter Julia had been carrying on a prolonged courtship with the president for over a year, despite the fact that Tyler was 30 years older than she was, old enough the death of her father.
他的女儿茱莉亚和总统的恋爱已经持续了一年多，尽管泰勒比她大30岁，与她去世的父亲一样老。
Provided that push Julia Gardiner needed to finally agree to marry Tyler after rejecting him twice and they were wed four months later--the first presidential wedding in American history.
假如茱莉亚·加德纳在拒绝了泰勒两次后终于同意嫁给他，并在四个月后完婚——那么这将会是美国历史上的第一次总统婚礼。
