By Douglas V. Gibbs
Noah Webster recognized that the American version of English was following a path departing from the version of English spoken in England. Americans, however, were still using the Oxford Dictionary from England. So, Mr. Webster worked to produce a new dictionary, an American Dictionary of the English Language.
The 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language was produced at a time when America’s culture was based on a Christian foundation, and a patriotic basis. Webster feared that the language of the Constitution was being misinterpreted, a practice he had seen first-hand by his fellow members of the Federalist Party, who were followers of Alexander Hamilton and his creation of implied powers. Webster aimed to undo the damage being inflicted by those seeking political power and a consolidation of governmental authorities into the federal government, and the way to do it was to be influential in the educational system. Through informing the younger generation a country on a Christian Constitutional course may remain so longer than otherwise.
Webster already had in the hands of students his “blue-backed Speller,” his “Grammars,” and his “Readers.” Biblical and patriotic themes and values covered the pages of the resources he offered. Webster considered education useless without the Bible. Christian influences flow freely as one thumbs through the pages of his 1828 Dictionary, which contains the greatest number of Biblical definitions ever given in any secular volume.
Webster said of education, “In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government, ought to be instructed… No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people…”
Noah Webster laid the foundation of his 1828 Dictionary for years, recognizing that the American language was becoming distinct from that of England. In 1806 he published A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language, which built upon and extended the work of English schoolmaster John Entick. In Webster’s 1806 dictionary he added 5,000 new words to Entick’s original 32,000.
The idea Webster had regarding the changes the American version of English was experiencing was first articulated in 1785 when he toured the colonies lecturing on the English language. In 1789 his Dissertations on the English Language led him into his profound study, ultimately leading him to master more than 26 languages.
“As an independent nation, our honor requires us to have a system of our own, in language and in government.”
In great need of assistance due to his slim resources, Webster was encouraged to seek financial support where he could muster it. He moved his family as necessary, taking on positions all over Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 1793, Alexander Hamilton recruited him to serve as editor for a Federalist Party newspaper in New York City, lending Webster $1,500 to make the move. In 1798 he served in the Connecticut House of Representatives. He was elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1799. He helped found Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1812. In 1822 he moved his family back to New Haven, Connecticut, where he was awarded an honorary degree from Yale in 1823. In 1827, Webster was elected to the American Philosophical Society. He was influential in establishing the Copyright Act of 1831. He released his own “Common Version” edition of the Holy Bible in 1833. In 1834, he published Value of the Bible and Excellence of the Christian Religion.
Webster was an abolitionist, and he helped found the Connecticut Society for the Abolition of Slavery in 1791. Though an abolitionist, as a constitutionalist he believed the authority regarding abolition of slavery belonged to the States. He commented that the abolition must come State by State, the Constitution, federal government, and the Northern States, “cannot legally interfere with the South on this subject.”
As a fan of federalism, as presented by the United States Constitution, Webster understood the tenets of what republicanism was all about, but he believed the federal government needed to have more power than the Constitution offered in order to be the next great empire. While he battled internally over these political ideas, he believed the Hamiltonian offering was too radical, and too secular. Often, he was a man criticized by both sides of the political spectrum. He stood firmly against Andrew Jackson’s ideas of democracy, considering the seventh President of the United States to be an authoritarian and a tool of the ruling elitists of Europe.
Noah Webster died May 28, 1843 at the age of 84 in New Haven, Connecticut. After his death the rights to his dictionary were acquired by George and Charles Merriam.
— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
