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peculiar institution

American

noun

Black slavery in the southern U.S. before the Civil War.

Etymology

Origin of peculiar institution

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They dramatize the range of humanity, good and bad, tragic and triumphant, that ran throughout the peculiar institution.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 2021

Brooks, however, was pro-slavery and had attacked Sumner in part because he opposed the "peculiar institution" and its supporters.

From Salon • Jun. 20, 2021

These “contrabands,” like centuries of enslaved people before them, challenged the pro-slavery federal government to confront the political reality wrought by its peculiar institution.

From New York Times • Nov. 16, 2020

The canon of essential novels about America’s peculiar institution just grew by one.

From Washington Post • Aug. 1, 2016

I must say that it is curious that so many of these men who subscribed wholeheartedly to the peculiar institution are turning shambler.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023