Zachary Taylor was the United States' 12th President. He was born in Virginia in 1784 and taken as an infant to Kentucky to be raised on a plantation. He lived in a small wood cabin, before moving to a brick house as a result of his family's increased prosperity. He shared the house with seven brothers and sisters. Since there were no schools on the Kentucky frontier, Taylor had only a basic education.

扎卡里·泰勒是美國(guó)第12任總統(tǒng)。1784年，泰勒出生在弗吉尼亞州，不久，由于舉家搬遷，泰勒來(lái)到了肯塔基，并在父親的種植園里長(zhǎng)大。隨著泰勒家族的日益繁榮，他們搬進(jìn)了磚房，在此之前，泰勒住的是小木屋。泰勒和七個(gè)兄弟姐妹住在一起。由于肯塔基邊境沒(méi)有學(xué)校，泰勒只接受過(guò)基礎(chǔ)教育。

Taylor joined the U.S. Army in 1808. He was promoted to captain in 1810 and in 1812, he successfully defended Indiana's Fort Harrison from attack by Native Americans. He spent the next three decades winning major military victories, including the Battle of Buena Vista in 1847 during the Mexican-American War. This last battle elevated him to being a national hero and compared with George Washington.

1808年，泰勒加入了美國(guó)軍隊(duì)。1810年和1812年，他被提升為上尉，并在印第安納州的哈里遜堡成功擊退了印第安人的進(jìn)攻。在接下來(lái)的30年里，他贏得了重大的軍事勝利，其中包括1847年美墨戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中的維斯塔戰(zhàn)役。最后一場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)役——維斯塔戰(zhàn)役使他成為了美國(guó)的民族英雄，堪比喬治·華盛頓。

Taylor decided to enter politics in 1848. With his reputation as a war hero and his straight talking, he won the 1848 presidential election. The slavery issue dominated much of Taylor's term in office, especially because he owned 100 slaves. He advised California and New Mexico to apply for statehood. Southern leaders threatened to break away from the Union as the new states would reject bills allowing slavery.

1848年，泰勒決定從政。因?yàn)樗仁菓?zhàn)神，說(shuō)話又直言不諱，于是被選為了1848年美國(guó)總統(tǒng)。泰勒在任期間的主導(dǎo)問(wèn)題是奴隸制問(wèn)題——他當(dāng)時(shí)擁有100個(gè)奴隸。他主張給予加利福尼亞和新墨西哥州的地位。南方領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人威脅要脫離聯(lián)邦，成立一個(gè)無(wú)奴隸制的新國(guó)家。

Taylor stood firm against the possible rebellion. He said he would personally lead the Army in a fight against them and hang "persons taken in rebellion…with less reluctance than…hanged deserters and spies in Mexico". He never wavered, but events took an unexpected turn. He died in 1850 as a compromise was being drafted. The conflict he warned of started eleven years later – the American Civil War.

泰勒?qǐng)?jiān)決抵制這潛在叛亂。他說(shuō)他會(huì)親自帶領(lǐng)軍隊(duì)攻打他們，還要絞殺“叛兵……以比絞殺墨西哥逃兵和間諜……更不容懈怠的精神?！睂?duì)此，他從未動(dòng)搖過(guò)，然而事情又發(fā)生了意想不到的變化。1850年，正當(dāng)和解協(xié)議起草期間，泰勒逝世了。11年后，這場(chǎng)泰勒警示過(guò)的沖突又重新燃起——美國(guó)內(nèi)戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)。