关于早期的美国.docVIP

你曾经听过谁的演说极具煽动性、让你听完演讲后，会有非去做某事不可的冲动？从少年时代，派屈克．亨利在美国殖民地，就非常具有演说方面的个人魅力。他出生于1736年5月29日，是一个天生的领导者和耀眼的演说家，坚信人权以及要和英国政府争取独立。1763年，亨利还是个年轻律师，就以「人生来具有不可剥夺 (不能因宣告删除就无法行使) 之权利」的主张，振振有词的辩护，震惊了法庭上所有观众，天赋人权进而成为独立宣言的中心思想。独立宣言中的这句话，你应该已经很熟悉：「许多事实在我们的内心显而易见，人生而平等，人生而被赋予包括生存、自由，以及追求幸福等不可剥夺的权利。」Have you ever heard someone speak so passionately that the speech moved you to do something? Even as a young man, Patrick Henry had that kind of influence in the American Colonies. Born on May 29, 1736, Henry, a natural leader and a brilliant speaker, believed in individual rights and independence from the British government. As a young lawyer, he astonished his courtroom audience in 1763 with an eloquent defense based on the idea of natural rights, the political theory that humans are born with certain inalienable (incapable of being surrendered) rights. The idea of natural rights is central to the Declaration of Independence. Does this sentence from the Declaration sound familiar to you? We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.? 在弗吉尼亚州首府李奇蒙，圣约翰大教堂，派屈克．亨利发表了他最着名的演说。对大不列颠的战争隐隐然将爆发之际，亨利宣告：「我知道并非人人都能接受，但对我来说，不自由，毋宁死。」 身为弗吉尼亚首任管辖者以及国家法律制定者，亨利对这个国家持续发挥深深的影响力，他致力于宪法前十条的修正案，统称权利法案，保障基本人权，像是言论及宗教自由。你能想像美国没有这些人权的模样吗？It was in St. Johns Church in Richmond, Virginia, that Patrick Henry delivered his most famous speech. With war against Great Britain looming, Henry proclaimed, I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! As the first governor of Virginia and as a state legislator, Henry continued to have profound influence on the development of the new nation. He worked for the addition of the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Known as the Bill of Rights, they guarantee certain freedoms, such as the freedom of speech and religion. Can you imagine the U.S. without such rights?? 詹姆