through the much high numbers they had in the House of Representatives,

通过他们在众议院中占有的多数席位
and even now with California and so on,

甚至加利福尼亚
maybe even in the U.S. Senate--that eventually--

甚至最终美国参议院的多数席位
and if they close off the expansion of slavery in the West,

如果他们遏止了西部奴隶制的扩张
what does that do?

该如何是好
It cordons off and it contains and it begins to smother

这会使南方社会以及奴隶制
Southern society and the slave system.

受到阻挠和压制
And the theory was that on the rim of the South, in Kentucky,

这样会导致南方边缘地带肯塔基
in Missouri, in Maryland,

密苏里马里兰等地
the price of slaves would begin to dwindle.

奴隶的价格会开始降低
And then what do people do when the price of something goes down?

然后人们在物品降价时会怎么做呢
They sell it off.

廉价抛售