About this episode

This episode explores Noah Webster's efforts to create a distinct American language and culture post-Revolution.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Noah Webster believed winning the Revolution was only the beginning. If Americans were going to become a truly independent people, he thought they needed to stop speaking, spelling, and learning like the British. So the stubborn and obsessive Connecticut writer set out to give the new nation a language of its own. His schoolbooks taught generations of American children, his spelling reforms changed the words they wrote, and his dictionary consumed decades of his life. Joshua Kendall, author of  The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture , shares the story of the man whose name became synonymous with the dictionary. Webster also fought for copyright protections, carried an early plan for a stronger federal government to George Washington, and spent much of his long life trying to shape the country the Revolution had created. Audio courtesy of the U.S. Library of Congress Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Our American Stories

Guest: Joshua Kendall

Topics covered

• American history
• language development
• Noah Webster
• independence
• education
• cultural identity

Keywords

• Noah Webster
• American language
• dictionary
• education
• spelling reforms
• cultural identity
• copyright protections

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Library of Congress

Books & works: The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture

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