American Cultural History, Topic 4: Noah Webster, American Language, and Webster s Speller

Transcription

1 Background: In the early republic, no man did more than Noah Webster ( ) to promote an education in the emerging American culture. Webster, a one-time deist who embraced evangelical Christianity at midlife, was born in West Hartford Connecticut and served briefly in the War of American Independence before becoming a lawyer and schoolmaster. As a deeply committed Federalist (one who favored the creation of a strong central government), he wrote a well-received pamphlet, Sketches of American Policy (1785), and founded two newspapers, The Minerva (later The Commercial Advertiser) and The Herald (later The Spectator) to advance the cause of his party. Having received a broad education at Yale University, he also wrote many works on politics, economics, biology, education, religion, and physical science, helped to found Amherst College, and published a common version of the Bible. He is most famous, however, for his contributions to nationalistic education, which promoted a distinctly American identity through standardizing American language in works such as Webster s Elementary Spelling Book, also known as The American Spelling Book or The Blue-Backed Speller (1783), A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language (1806), and American Dictionary of the English Language (1828, enlarged in 1840). Webster s speller and dictionaries had such a profound impact on American culture because of the widespread belief in the early republic that education was the key to maintaining freedom. Unlike in England, where conservative aristocrats feared that educating the masses would lead to discontent and revolt, in the new American nation, intellectuals and civic leaders believed that the widespread education of white males was essential. The existence of the republic, they asserted, depended on the virtue and intelligence of the voting populace, which necessitated making access to knowledge a top priority in the emerging nation. As Webster said, education had to be the most important business in civil society. Ignorance led to tyranny, argued the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, and wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the people, are necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties. This line of thinking led to a flood of speeches and writings on the importance of education in the early republic. In 1776, there were only nine colleges in the United States; within twentyfive years, sixteen more would join them. Seventy-five percent of all American books and pamphlets published between 1637 and 1800 were produced between 1765 and Between 1786 and 1795, Americans created twenty-eight magazines six more than those established in the entire colonial period. Publicly supported libraries sprouted up and down the Atlantic seaboard. Reading clubs, lecture series, and debating societies flourished, and, though rare prior to the Battle of Lexington and Concord, American newspapers proliferated so quickly during the early republic that Americans soon became the largest body of newspaper digesters in the world. In short, in the name of maintaining the republic for which they had fought so diligently to secure, the emerging nation developed an insatiable hunger for education. For leaders of the nascent nation, consciously establishing federal culture was paramount. As George Washington explained, The more homogeneous our citizens can be made the

2 greater will be our prospect of permanent union. To make Washington s vision a reality, Webster stressed uniformity & purity of language to unite Americans in a common linguistic culture, and Thomas Jefferson discouraged going abroad to receive higher education, admiring, instead, those who have been educated [at home in America], whose manners, morals, and habits are perfectly homogeneous with those of the country. As historian Michael Kammen has assessed, They all hoped to achieve a common citizenship based upon cultural unity and well-ordered liberty. The free American would sensibly subordinate his identity to the larger, singular character envisioned for the nation. Collective individualism, it might be called. Having won political independence from England, Washington and Jefferson now desired cultural independence from the former mother-country and dreamed of distinctly American contributions to the western world s literary masterworks. They saw the United States as the final, culminating stage of civilization: the last and greatest theatre for the improvement of mankind. Such soaring nationalism led to patriotic education in the new American culture being one of the foremost objectives of education in the early republic. American schoolchildren were to understand the world through the newness and possibility of the great American lens not through the time-worn traditions of their European heritage. They were to think nationalistic, American thoughts and unite with their countrymen in a federal, American culture. Helping the populace to feel personal attachment to the new nation was even more important than simply securing it on fields of battle because doing so fostered permanence: the type of cultural commitment that would keep the union of states together. Webster believed that this sort of shaping of the American identity had much to do with creating an American language. As an independent nation, our honor requires us to have a system of our own, in language as well as government, he said. As such, his Blue-Backed Speller, as well as a grammar and a reader (which would form, along with the speller, his Grammatical Institute of the English Language), championed a simplified, uniform, and Americanized English that rejected some British conventions of spelling, grammar, and pronunciation. For example, words such as honour, colour, and labour lost their silent u. Words like theatre became theater, and plough became plow. The speller also contained a preface that set forth its nationalistic purpose in what has been called a cultural Declaration of Independence, stating that the country must, in some future time, be as distinguished by the superiority of her literary achievements, as she already is by the liberality of her civil and ecclesiastical constitutions. Due to its almost universal use, the speller would become the most influential tool for advancing the cause of American nationalism. It would eventually sell over 100 million copies, making it the best-selling book other than the Bible in the history of American publishing. Webster s dictionaries of American English further advanced the cause of an independent American linguistic culture. His 1806 school dictionary was republished in so many editions that, in 1828, Webster enlarged it, making it the national standard for American definitions,

3 spelling, pronunciation, and word usage. For historians, it also provides a priceless window into the world of distinctly American ideas in the young nation. For example, by 1828, Webster defined gentleman merely as a courtesy title that could apply to all men of education and good breeding, of every occupation. Such a definition was a radical departure from the English tradition of social hierarchy. As historian Gordon Wood has commented, Of every occupation that was the key to the transformation [of American culture]. Traditionally gentleman did not have occupations; they were not in trade or business, and they did not work for money. Even artists and members of the professions who wished to be gentlemen [in colonial days] tried to regard their activities as something other than their source of income. In America, however, achievement through one s own work was honored and encouraged due to the belief that all men are created equal and, as such, should have an equal opportunity to prove themselves and become gentlemen. American culture celebrated individual worth and becoming, and Webster s dictionary captured such features of the American identity. It also embraced 5,000 new, American words such as tomahawk and rattlesnake and contained 12,000 more words and 40,000 more definitions than any previous English dictionary. As a reflection of the Biblical worldview of the nation in which he lived, these definitions contained numerous references and examples from the Bible. Though his etymologies were not entirely precise by modern standards, his concise, pithy definitions have remained models of lexical style. Also, by including thousands of technical and scientific definitions, Webster laid the foundation for the comprehensive rather than purely literary dictionaries of the modern age. The enlarged 1840 version of his 1828 dictionary has continued to appear in revised editions to this day, though the definitions have changed to reflect the respective American cultures of their times. The dictionaries contributions to American culture through the formation of distinctly American English have, along with the similar contributions of the Blue-Backed Speller, led to Webster being called the Father of Scholarship and Education in America. Questions to Consider as You Read: What indications of the speller s widespread adoption and use does Webster mention? What does Webster say about his conscious creation of American standards for uniformity in orthography (spelling) and pronunciation? Along with the rudiments of American English, what else does Webster through his speller hope to instill in the minds and hearts of American students? Provide examples. Research: Noah Webster, The American Spelling Book (1807 West s Edition, originally published in 1783) As you read, don t forget to mark and annotate main ideas, key terms, confusing concepts, unknown vocabulary, cause/effect relationships, examples, etc.

4 THE American Spelling Book, or First Part of a Grammatical Institute of the English language, when first published, encountered an opposition, which few new publications have sustained with success. It however maintained its ground, and its reputation has been gradually extended and established, until it has become the principal elementary book in the United States. In a great part of the northern States, it is the only book of the kind used; it is much used in the middle and southern States; and its annual sales indicate a large and increasing demand. Its merit is evinced not only by this general use, but by a remarkable fact, that, in the many attempts made to rival it, the compilers have all constructed their works on a similar plan; some of them have most unwarrantably and illegally copied a considerable part of the tables, with little or no alteration; and others have altered them, by additions, mutilations and subdivisions, numerous and perplexing. In most instances, this species of injustice has been discountenanced by the citizens of the United States, and the public sentiment has protected the original work, more effectually than the penalties of the law. In a copious list of names of places, rivers, lakes, mountains, &c. which are introduced into this work, no labor has been spared to exhibit their just orthography and pronunciation, according to the analogies of our language, and the common usages of the country. The orthography of Indian names has not, in every instance, been well adjusted by American authors. Many of these names still retain the French orthography, found in the writings of the first discoverers or early travellers; but the practice of writing such words in the French manner ought to be discountenanced. How does an unlettered American know the pronunciation of the names ouisconsin or ouabasche, in this French dress? Would he suspect the pronunciation to be Wisconsin and Waubosh? Our citizens ought not to be thus perplexed with an orthography to which they are strangers. Nor ought the harsh guttural sounds of the natives to be retained in such words as Shawangunk, and many others. Where popular practice has softened and abridged words of this kind, the change has been made in conformity with the genius of our language, which is accommodated to a civilized people; and the orthography ought to be conformed to the practice of speaking. The true pronunciation of the name of a place, is that which prevails in and near the place, I have always sought for this, but am apprehensive, that, in some instances, my information may not be correct. It has however been my endeavor to give the true pronunciation, in the appropriate English characters. The importance of correctness and uniformity, in the several impressions of a book of such general use, has suggested the propriety of adopting effectual measures to insure these desirable objects; and it is believed that such measures are taken, as will render all the future impressions of this work, uniform in the pages, well executed, and perfectly correct. And although perfect uniformity in speaking, is not probably attainable in any living language, yet it is to be wished, that the youth of our country may be, as little as possible, perplexed with various differing systems and standards. Whatever may be the difference of opinion, among individuals, respecting a few particular words, or the particular arrangement of a few classes of

5 words, the general interest of education requires, that a disposition to multiply books and systems for teaching the language of the country, should not be indulged to an unlimited extent. On this disposition however, the public sentiment alone can impose restraint. As the first part of the Institute met with the general approbation of my fellow citizens, it is presumed the labor bestowed upon this work, in correcting and improving the system, will render it still more acceptable to the public, by facilitating the education of youth, and enabling teachers to instil into their minds, with the first rudiments of the language, some just ideas of religion, morals and domestic economy. A MORAL CATECHISM. Question. What is moral virtue? Answer. It is an honest upright conduct in all our dealings with men. Q. What rules have we to direct us in our moral conduct? A. God's word, contained in the bible, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct. Q. In what part of the bible are these rules to be found? A. In almost every part; but the most important duties between men are summed up in the beginning of Matthew, in CHRIST S Sermon on the Mount. 1 Notebook Questions: Reason and Record What indications of the speller s widespread adoption and use does Webster mention? What does Webster say about his conscious creation of American standards for uniformity in orthography (spelling) and pronunciation? 1 SOURCE: Webster, Noah. The American Spelling Book, Containing the Rudiments of the English Language for the Use of Schools in the United States, Revised Copy West s Edition. Boston: For John West, David Carlisle, Printer, Webster s speller, of which this is a revised edition, was first published in 1783.

6 Along with the rudiments of American English, what else does Webster through his speller hope to instill in the minds and hearts of American students? Provide examples. Notebook Questions: Relate and Record How does the document relate to FACE Principle #7: The Christian Principle of American Political Union: Internal agreement or unity, which is invisible, produces an external union, which is visible in the spheres of government, economics, and home and community life. Before two or more individuals can act effectively together, they must first be united in spirit in their purposes and convictions? How does the document relate to Omni 1:14-19? Record Activity: Multiple Choice Comprehension Check 1. Background: Why was education, including Webster s standardization of American language, so important to American leaders during the early republic? a. The existence of the republic, they asserted, depended on the virtue and intelligence of the voting populace, which necessitated making access to knowledge a top priority in the emerging nation. b. As George Washington explained, The more homogeneous our citizens can be made the greater will be our prospect of permanent union. c. As historian Michael Kammen has assessed, They all hoped to achieve a common citizenship based upon cultural unity and well-ordered liberty. The free American would sensibly subordinate his identity to the larger, singular character envisioned for the nation. Collective individualism, it might be called. d. Having won political independence from England, Washington and Jefferson now desired cultural independence from the former mother-country and

7 dreamed of distinctly American contributions to the western world s literary masterworks. e. American schoolchildren were to understand the world through the newness and possibility of the great American lens not through the time-worn traditions of their European heritage. They were to think nationalistic, American thoughts and unite with their countrymen in a federal, American culture. f. His 1806 school dictionary was republished in so many editions that, in 1828, Webster enlarged it, making it the national standard for American definitions, spelling, pronunciation, and word usage. g. all of the above but one h. all of the above 2. Background: Which of the following are true about Webster s speller and dictionaries? a. They supported his belief that as an independent nation, our honor requires us to have a system of our own, in language as well as government. b. The speller (and its companion volumes, a grammar and a reader) championed a simplified, uniform, and Americanized English that rejected some British conventions of spelling, grammar, and pronunciation. c. The speller also contained a preface that set forth its nationalistic purpose in what has been called a cultural Declaration of Independence. d. Due to its almost universal use, the speller would become the most influential tool for advancing the cause of American nationalism. It would eventually sell over 100 million copies, making it the best-selling book other than the Bible in the history of American publishing. e. For historians, Webster s dictionaries also provide priceless windows into the world of distinctly American ideas in the young nation. f. Webster s 1828 dictionary embraced 5,000 new, American words such as tomahawk and rattlesnake and contained 12,000 more words and 40,000 more definitions than any previous English dictionary. g. As a reflection of the Biblical worldview of the nation in which he lived, Webster s definitions contained numerous references and examples from the Bible. Also, his concise, pithy definitions have remained models of lexical style, and he laid the foundation for the comprehensive rather than purely literary dictionaries of the modern age. h. five of the above i. all of the above but one j. all of the above

8 3. Source: Along with the rudiments of American English, what else does Webster through his speller hope to instill in the minds and hearts of American students? a. just ideas of religion, morals, and domestic economy b. an understanding that moral virtue is honest upright conduct in all our dealings with men c. an understanding that God's word, contained in the bible, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct d. an understanding that the most important duties between men are summed up in the beginning of Matthew, in CHRIST S Sermon on the Mount e. two of the above f. all of the above but one g. all of the above