Mason-Dixon line

(noun)

Also known as "Mason and Dixon's Line," a boundary surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in colonial America.

Related Terms

(noun)

Also known as Mason and Dixon's Line, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America.

Related Terms

Examples of Mason-Dixon line in the following topics:

  • Slavery in the Antebellum Period

    • However, by 1804, all states north of the Mason-Dixon Line had either abolished slavery outright or passed laws for the gradual abolition of slavery based upon abolition movements that viewed the practice of slavery as unethical, antithetical to the core principles of the United States, and detrimental to the rights of all free persons.
    • Accordingly, the nation was polarized along the Mason-Dixon Line.

  • The Politics of Slavery

    • Between 1777 and 1804, anti-slavery laws or constitutions were passed in every state north of the Ohio River and the Mason-Dixon Line.
    • Lincoln's election (the Republican) split the nation along sectional lines.

  • Dolley Madison and Washington City

    • There was a strong movement in Congress to relocate the nation's capital with many northern Congressmen pushing for a city north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

  • In Quest of Freedom

    • By 1804, in most states north of the Ohio River and the Mason-Dixon Line, abolitionists succeeded in passing legislation that would eventually (in conjunction with the 13th amendment) emancipate the slaves.

  • Legal Changes to Slavery: 1777-1804

    • Between 1776 and 1804, slavery was outlawed in every state north of the Ohio River and the Mason-Dixon Line.

  • Slavery and Liberty

    • Between 1777 and 1804, anti-slavery laws or constitutions were passed in every state north of the Ohio River and the Mason-Dixon Line.

  • Pennsylvania and Delaware

    • The Mason-Dixon line is said to have legally resolved vague outlines between Maryland and Pennsylvania and awarded Delaware to Pennsylvania.

  • Maryland

    • Maryland lost some of its original territory to Pennsylvania in the 1760s when, after Charles II granted that colony a tract that overlapped with the Maryland grant, the Mason-Dixon Line was drawn to resolve the boundary dispute between the two colonies.

  • Race and Opportunity

    • Either through the language of their state constitutions, court decisions, or gradual emancipation acts, all states north of the Ohio River and the Mason-Dixon Line had outlawed slavery by 1804.
    • Territories seeking statehood above the line would become free states, and those below the line would become slave states.

  • African Americans and the Republic

    • Between 1776 and 1804, slavery was outlawed in every state north of the Ohio River and the Mason–Dixon Line.