Further Antedating of "Peculiar Institution"

[Fred Shapiro]

On Wed, 20 Jun 2007, Joel S. Berson wrote:

> OED2 does not have "[the] peculiar institution" as a
> headword.  (Should it?)  It has for its earliest instance "1837 W. E.
> Channing Annex. Texas Wks. (1884) 541/2 Strange, that the South
> should think of securing its 'peculiar institutions' by violent means."

1833 _United States' Telegraph_ 4 Oct. (19th Century U.S. Newspapers)
These parties both have agents actively engaged in teaching the people of
the south that their peculiar institutions are at war with their temporal
as well as their spiritual welfare.

Fred Shapiro


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