slavocracy

[ sley-vok-ruh-see ]

noun

, plural slav·oc·ra·cies.

1. the rule or domination of slaveholders:

   the slavocracy of the old plantations.

2. a dominating body of slaveholders.

slavocracy

/ sleɪˈvɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. slaveholders as a dominant class
2. domination by slaveholders

Other Words From

• slav·o·crat [sley, -v, uh, -krat], noun
• slav·o·crat·ic [sley-v, uh, -, krat, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of slavocracy¹

First recorded in 1830–40; slave + -o- + -cracy

Example Sentences

Ultimately, the Confederacy and the Southern slavocracy, and Jim and Jane Crow were never truly banished from America.

From Salon

Now gone from Monument Avenue are all five grandiose monuments to White defenders of slavocracy, including the state-owned statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

From Washington Post

Today's challenges are different — and no offense can be compared with the slavocracy of the antebellum period — but anyone who cares about basic principles of democracy can see that our struggle is much the same.

From Salon

Most notoriously, in 1856, Rep. Preston Brooks of South Carolina hit Sen. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts with a cane at least a dozen times — nearly killing him — over a speech decrying the conduct of the slavocracy.

From Washington Post

The slavocracy evaded Lincoln’s grasp by seceding; the Supreme Court repeatedly thwarted F.D.R.

From New York Times