pre-Civil War

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He plumbs the lives of the family of William Henry Seward, one of the most consequential political men of pre-Civil War America, with a searching eye to the texture of their emotional world.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026

The companies filed under a pre-Civil War provision of an 1851 maritime law that allows them to seek to limit their liability to the value of the vessel’s remains after a casualty.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 1, 2024

Clay Risen helped to establish that enslaved Blacks did play a role in whiskey making in pre-Civil War America.

From Salon • Jan. 15, 2023

Originally, the deep-sea hunters who started searching for the pre-Civil War steamship in the 1980s had their eye on the same prize usually found in pirate chests.

From Washington Times • Dec. 1, 2022

If you were born in the 1820s you were too old: your mindset was shaped by the pre-Civil War paradigm.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell