(continued from (1))
(n) The review at last conended, "Their colleagues wallowed in fustian and threats: Henry Foote of Mississippi drew a pistol on Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri on the Senate floor; but after a full dose of Benton, who could blame him?"
(i) fustian (n). Oxford Dictionaries, undated.
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/fustian
(ii) Thomas Hart Benton (politician)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hart_Benton_(politician)
(1782-1858; a US senator from Missouri and a staunch advocate of westward expansion of the United States; served in the Senate from 1821 to 1851, becoming the first member of that body to serve five terms)
Quote: "With troubled conscience, in 1849 he declared himself 'against the institution of slavery,' putting him against his [Democratic] party and popular opinion in his state. In April 1850, during heated Senate floor debates over the proposed Compromise of 1850, Benton was nearly shot by pistol-wielding Mississippi Senator Henry S Foote, who had taken umbrage to Benton's vitriolic sparring with Vice-President Millard Fillmore. Foote was wrestled to the floor where he was disarmed."
-------------------------------------------
(2) David S Reynolds, Statesmanship In a Divided Era; Fisticuffs on the floor of Congress, Southern threats of secession, saber-rattling over slavery in new states. And then: compromise. Wall Street Journal, Apr 22, 2012.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 50313501109238.html
Note:
(a) nothing less than: "downright; truly"
All definitions are from Collins English dictionary, unless otherwise noted.
(b) fire-eater (n):
"1. a performer who simulates the swallowing of fire
2. a belligerent person"
(c)
(i) hatchet-faced (adj): "Someone who is hatchet-faced has a thin, hard and unpleasant face"
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/hatchet-faced
(ii) hatchet-face (adj): "a face with narrow dimensions and sharp features"
(d) The review stated, "Meanwhile, the Venezuela-born soldier Narciso López, having consulted with several proslavery leaders, invaded Cuba with a "filibustering" expedition—as such freelance military forays were known—in a failed attempt to win that Spanish island for the South."
(i) Narciso López
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narciso_López
(1797–1851; a Venezuelan adventurer and soldier; section 1 Li fe in Venezuela, Cuba, and Spain (last 3 sentences); section 2 Career as a filibuster)
(ii) filibuster (military)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filibuster_(military)
(e) The review said, "Clay proposed a broad-ranging measure that made concessions to both sides. (It was called the 'omnibus bill' because it was compared to a bus carrying different types of passengers.)."
(i) omnibus (adj):
"1829, 'four-wheeled public vehicle with seats for passengers,' from Fr. (voiture) omnibus '(carriage) for all, common (conveyance),' from L. omnibus 'for all,' dative plural of omnis "all" (see omni-). Introduced by Laffitte in Paris, 1820. In reference to legislation, the word is recorded from 1842."
Online Etymology Dictionary, undated.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=omnibus
(ii) omnibus bill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibus_bill
(f) Kansas-Nebraska Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas-Nebraska_Act
(the acts "created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska[, and] allow[ed] settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty whether they would allow slavery within each territory; The acts was designed by Democratic Senator Stephen A Douglas of Illinois; The result was that pro- and anti-slavery elements flooded into Kansas with the goal of voting slavery up or down, leading to a bloody civil war there)
(g) Dred Scott
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dred_Scott
(1795-1858; section 2 Life)
(h) The review talked about "a mulish adherence to long-held views."
The adjective mulish--of mule--is defined as "stubborn; obstinate; headstrong."
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发表于 7-20-2012 11:59:56
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