[mey-suhn-dik-suhn] Pronunciation Key | the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland, partly surveyed by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon between 1763 and 1767, popularly considered before the end of slavery as a line of demarcation between free and slave states. |
] Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| Ma·son-Dix·on Line
(mā'sən-dĭk'sən) Pronunciation Key
The boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland, regarded as the division between free and slave states before the Civil War. It was established between 1763 and 1767 by the British surveyors Charles Mason (1730-1787) and Jeremiah Dixon (died 1777). |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Mason-Dixon Line
| mason-dixon line | |
noun | |
| the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania; symbolic dividing line between North and South before the American Civil War |
Mason-Dixon line
A boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, laid out by two English surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, in the 1760s. Before and during the Civil War, the line was symbolic of the division between slaveholding and free states. After the war, it remained symbolic of the division between states that required racial segregation and those that did not.
[Chapter:] American History to 1865
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Mason-Dixon line
Part of the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland established by the English surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the 1760s. The line resolved disputes caused by unclear description of the boundaries in the Maryland and Pennsylvania charters.
Note: Though the line did not actually divide North and South, it became the symbolic division between free states and slave states. Today, it still stands for the boundary between northern and southern states.
[Chapter:] American Geography
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Mason City, IA (city, FIPS 50160) Location: 43.15134 N, 93.19847 W
Population (1990): 29040 (12669 housing units)
Area: 66.3 sq km (land), 0.9 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 50401
Mason Neck, VA Zip code(s): 22079
Mason City, NE (village, FIPS 31115) Location: 41.22248 N, 99.29798 W
Population (1990): 160 (97 housing units)
Area: 1.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 68855
Mason County, IL (county, FIPS 125) Location: 40.23766 N, 89.91353 W
Population (1990): 16269 (7684 housing units)
Area: 1396.0 sq km (land), 63.3 sq km (water)
Mason City, IL (city, FIPS 47475) Location: 40.20182 N, 89.69619 W
Population (1990): 2323 (1047 housing units)
Area: 2.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Mason County, WV (county, FIPS 53) Location: 38.77292 N, 82.02231 W
Population (1990): 25178 (10932 housing units)
Area: 1118.6 sq km (land), 33.5 sq km (water)
Mason County, WA (county, FIPS 45) Location: 47.35061 N, 123.18495 W
Population (1990): 38341 (22292 housing units)
Area: 2489.3 sq km (land), 233.1 sq km (water)
Mason County, TX (county, FIPS 319) Location: 30.71777 N, 99.22038 W
Population (1990): 3423 (2356 housing units)
Area: 2414.3 sq km (land), 0.3 sq km (water)
Mason County, MI (county, FIPS 105) Location: 44.02171 N, 86.50031 W
Population (1990): 25537 (14119 housing units)
Area: 1282.5 sq km (land), 1934.2 sq km (water)
Mason County, KY (county, FIPS 161) Location: 38.59581 N, 83.82623 W
Population (1990): 16666 (7089 housing units)
Area: 624.5 sq km (land), 14.2 sq km (water)
Mason, TX (city, FIPS 46968) Location: 30.74925 N, 99.23209 W
Population (1990): 2041 (1069 housing units)
Area: 7.7 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 76856
Mason, TN (town, FIPS 46420) Location: 35.41323 N, 89.53663 W
Population (1990): 337 (135 housing units)
Area: 1.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 38049
Mason, OH (city, FIPS 48188) Location: 39.36000 N, 84.30704 W
Population (1990): 11452 (4274 housing units)
Area: 31.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 45040
Mason, NH Zip code(s): 03048
Mason, MI (city, FIPS 52180) Location: 42.58170 N, 84.44390 W
Population (1990): 6768 (2463 housing units)
Area: 11.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 48854
Mason, IL (town, FIPS 47449) Location: 38.95310 N, 88.62540 W
Population (1990): 387 (150 housing units)
Area: 2.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 62443
Mason, WV (town, FIPS 52180) Location: 39.01885 N, 82.03245 W
Population (1990): 1053 (506 housing units)
Area: 1.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 25260
Mason, WI (village, FIPS 49900) Location: 46.43550 N, 91.06227 W
Population (1990): 102 (41 housing units)
Area: 1.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
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