over say a few decades.

只能减少百分之五至百分之十的
But even that five or ten percent, the theory was,

而就是这个理论上的数据
would ameliorate conditions in the south,

也能缓和南方的局势
it would begin to defuse this powder keg

它能让这个火药桶不那么危险
of a rising slave population being fueled by the great cotton boom.

也就是黑奴数量随着棉业的蓬勃发展而激增
And it had a kind of a strange attractiveness,

殖民计划有种特别的吸引力
but mostly to white folks.

但通常只吸引白人
It was roundly loathed by--make no mistake

而强烈反对它的人毫无疑问
by a majority of free african-Americans

是大多数的自由的黑人
in the North or Upper South,

他们生活在北方或者中南部
and feared--to the extent they even grasped the idea

甚至黑奴们对它非常恐惧
by slaves in the Deep South.

那些生活在南方腹地的黑奴们