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Peculiar Institution was a term used by the North and South to explain slavery. The word
“peculiar” refers to man as being “self made” and as each person being distinctive. The
peculiar institution aimed to describe slavery as an improper act.
“The South wanted slavery to be continued while the North wished it to be abolished.
During this time, slavery became a appalling word. Instead of using the word slavery, the
South called it a peculiar institution. This meant that it was the South’s own establishment
or it was rather unusual.”
The slavery of blacks in the American colonies began during the 1600’s. Slavery prospered
in the South, where large plantations grew cotton, tobacco, and other types of crops.
“By 1860, the slave states of the United States had about 4 million slaves. The slaves made
up nearly a third of the South’s population.”
During the 1700’s, philosophers and religious leaders in Europe and North America began
to criticize slavery. These philosophers and religious leaders declared that slavery violated
human rights and God-given law.
Many Americans turned against slavery during the Revolutionary War in America.
Americans came to believe that slavery didn’t belong in a nation that had been formed to
protect natural human rights. Few people in the North owned slaves, and opposition to
slavery developed more rapidly in the North than in the South. Some Southerners,
including leaders such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, spoke out against
slavery. But the high profits that resulted from slavery had far greater influence than any
moral arguments.
Support of slavery remained strong throughout the South. “About 45,000 planters owned
