The New Yorker, November 6, 2006 P. 78
LIFE AND LETTERS about Noah Webster and the writing of the his “American Dictionary of the English Language”… On June 4, 1800, Noah Webster placed an ad in the back pages of a Connecticut newspaper announcing his plans to compile a “Dictionary of the American Language.” Seventy thousand entries and a quarter century later, he wrote his last definition. The dictionary rewarded him with the kind of immortality reserved only for a handful of writers… In June of 1800, Webster's proposal for an American dictionary made national news. A Philadelphia newspaper called the idea preposterous. Two American dictionaries, published months before, had been badly drubbed… The snootiest opposition to Webster's plan came from members of his own Federalist Party: well-heeled men who loved England, hated France, favored a strong central government, and despised all that was common. Webster was such a snob that even the Federalists called him “the Monarch.” But when it came to the dictionary, Webster was a republican. He believed, radically for his time, that the mass of common people, not a select few, form language and establish its rules. Federalists couldn't stomach this idea. English writers were miffed at Webster's claim that his dictionary would surpass Samuel Johnson's. One English writer scoffed that “Americans were addicted to innovation.” It wasn't just the Federalists who wanted nothing to do with the dictionary. The Republicans attacked it because they hated Webster's Federalism… Tells about the American spelling book Webster published in 1783. Also tells about the Federalists' fear that too much innovation by Americans could lead to their own Reign of Terror… Webster was also an advocate of innovative spellings such as “wimmen” for women and “tung” for tongue… What saved Webster's dictionary from the bipartisan quicksand was the time it took him to finish it… Tells about Webster's domestic difficulties-his money problems, and the birth of a child with mental and physical infirmities. The month of the child's birth, Webster was born again. He moved his family from Connecticut to Amherst, where he became obsessed with chasing etymologies, which further delayed the dictionary. In 1824, he sailed for England, where he finished the dictionary. By then the Federalist Party was dead and populism was on the rise. The American dictionary did not fly off the shelves, but it was respected and, soon enough, revered. What contributed most to the dictionary's success was timing: it was published at the height of the Second Great Awakening. The book was a Christian catechism. Born-again Americans applauded it… Briefly discusses copyright issues relating to the use of the Webster and Merriam-Webster names…