“Webster completed his dictionary during his year abroad in 1825
in Paris, France, and at The University of Cambridge.” His book
contained 27,000 words, of which 12,000 had never appeared in
a published dictionary before. As a spelling reformer, Webster
believed that English spelling rules were unnecessarily complex,
so his dictionary introduced American English spellings, replacing
“colour” with “color”, substituting “wagon” for “waggon”, and
printing” center” for “centre.”
He also added American words, like “skunk” and “squash,” that
did not appear in British dictionaries. In 1828, at the age of 70,
Webster published his dictionary. Though Webster’s dictionary has
an honored place in history of American English, Webster’s first
dictionary only sold 2,500 copies which forced him to mortgage his
home to bring out a second edition, and his life from then on was
plagued with debt.” Wow. Is this a timely story, or what?! Think of
Webster’s tremendous and indescribable contribution to American
history: but he was literally, broke! What a statement!
Webster proved that money does not determine your worth. If
he was alive today, I wonder what he would think of Americas’
obsession with money? Apparently, Noah Webster was not only a
scholar, and a solid piece of American history, but he was a man of
honor and courage. He was willing to sacrifice his own comfort, for
a defined purpose- for the truth. How fascinating! I wonder how he
got that way. I guess, I’ll read on.
“Webster was a devout Christian. (Oh...there goes God again.) His
speller was grounded in Scripture, and his first lesson began with:
“Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
drink: nor for your body, what ye shall put on: for your heavenly
Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.” In 1828,
Webster’s dictionary contained the greatest number of Biblical
definitions given in any reference volume and considered education
“useless without the Bible.” In 1828, the preface of Webster’s
edition of The American Dictionary of the English Language, read,
as such:
John Hamilton
“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 IN MY
MIND THAN THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. THIS MUST BE
THE BASIS OF ANY GOVERNMENT INTENDED TO SECURE
THE RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF FREE PEOPLE.”
Wow. Was Webster “politically incorrect,” or what? How would
Webster fit into society today? Would he be considered “not cool?”
Would Webster be instructed to write the dictionary in an “anything
goes” way? How would he feel about “the Gangsta” image our
children are enamored with?
Where is The Christian Religion in that? How did all this happen? I
wonder if there is any hope for this nation? Well, we better find out
quickly. This is going to require another “rabbit trail” of challenging
and confrontational thinking. Are [