slave state
noun
1
: a state of the U.S. in which slavery was legal until the Civil War
2
: a nation subjected to totalitarian rule
Examples of slave state in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
During this time, free states in the upper Midwest that bordered slave states passed laws creating legal disabilities and burdensome bureaucratic hurdles for free Black people who wanted to stay within their borders.
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Time, 14 July 2025
The debate was mostly argued via violence and guerrilla warfare between citizens of Kansas and slave state Missouri on its border.
—David Ubben, New York Times, 11 July 2025
Similarly, Massachusetts lawmakers gave their approval for Maine to become its own state, a move that Congress formalized in 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise, which also admitted Illinois’ southwestern neighbor as a slave state.
—Dan Petrella, Chicago Tribune, 23 June 2025
After Tennessee became a state in 1796, the country had eight slave states and eight free (or soon-to-be-free) states.
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 26 Feb. 2025
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Time, 14 July 2025
The debate was mostly argued via violence and guerrilla warfare between citizens of Kansas and slave state Missouri on its border.
—David Ubben, New York Times, 11 July 2025
Similarly, Massachusetts lawmakers gave their approval for Maine to become its own state, a move that Congress formalized in 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise, which also admitted Illinois’ southwestern neighbor as a slave state.
—Dan Petrella, Chicago Tribune, 23 June 2025
After Tennessee became a state in 1796, the country had eight slave states and eight free (or soon-to-be-free) states.
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slave state
Cite this Entry
“Slave state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slave%20state. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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