Vocabulary:

　entrench: 　　vt. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying
　　　　　　　　 oefending用壕沟围住，尤指加强或防御的目的
　compromise:　 n. A settlement of differences in which each side makes concessions. 妥协
　dilemma:　　 n. A situation that requires a choice between options that are or seem
　　　　　　　　　 equally unfavorable or mutually exclusive.　进退两难
　condone: 　　vt. To overlook, forgive, or disregard (an offense) without protest or
　　　　　　　　　censure. 　　宽恕
　involuntary: 　adj. Acting or done without or against one's will.
　　　　　　　　　非自愿的；无意或非本意而做的
　servitude:　　n. A state of subjection to an owner or a master.　　 奴役

Text：

　　Slavery on American soil grew at such a fast rate that, by 1750, over 200,000 African slaves were here. Fifty years later, that number grew to 700,000. In South Carolina alone, African slaves outnumbered the white population, and they made up more than one half of the populations in the states of Maryland and Virginia. The free Black American population did expand to about 40,000 throughout the colonies by 1770.
　　The system of slavery was so entrenched in the daily routines on American soil that it had to be dealt with as a National issue. Lengthy debates, political compromises, moral dilemmas, slave rebellions, and a Nation divided against itself suddenly had to face the issue of enslaved Africans existing on American soil. America condoned the "peculiar institution" of slavery from 1619 up until the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which abolished "slavery and involuntary servitude" on December 18, 1865.
　　 This period in American history left behind some of the most unbearable scars on the African-Americans as a people, but the free thinking decent people and countless allies devoted themselves into liberating the enslaved people, among which we could find some representatives like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr..
　　 African-American, or we call them the black people in America, is freedom-loving people. Although they suffered decades of slavery, they never stop their dream for freedom and their love for their nation.

Audio：

　　Abraham Lincoln was an outspoken opponent of slavery who became the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in 1860. Soon after Lincoln's election as president, seven Southern states seceded from the Union because they feared that Lincoln would abolish slavery. Four more states had followed by the time Lincoln delivered his first inaugural address on March 4, 1861.

Martin Luther King, Jr. 　Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged as a leader of the American civil rights movement after organizing the famous 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. Throughout his career he pressed for equal treatment and improved circumstances for blacks, organizing nonviolent protests and delivering powerful speeches on the necessity of eradicating institutional racial inequalities. In 1963 King led a peaceful march between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, where he delivered his most famous speech, “ I Have a Dream. ”

Video：Fighting for Freedom-Abstract of the movie "Glory"　　　 下载欣赏