peculiar institution

English

Map of the United States, c. 1861. Slave states in pink, with free states in blue.

Etymology

"Peculiar" here does not mean strange. It means "peculiar" (particular) to a certain area, in this case the Southern United States.

Noun

the peculiar institution (uncountable)

1. (euphemistic or derogatory) slavery
   • 1855, Peter Randolph, Illustrations of the 'Peculiar Institution':

     He became a great drunkard and a great gambler (vices intimately connected with the "peculiar institution,") and was obliged to give up his business.

   • 2001, John C. Inscoe, Appalachians and Race, Introduction, page 3:

     He documents the extensiveness of the peculiar institution's presence throughout the region and establishes a much more realistic context for the emergences of abolitionist sentiments and the various forms it took.