slave state

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

slave′ state′, 

1. American History any state, nation, etc., where slavery is legal or officially condoned.
2. American History Slave States, [U.S. Hist.] the states that permitted slavery between 1820 and 1860: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
• 1800–10, American.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Slave State noun

1. any of the 15 Southern states in which slavery was legal until the Civil War