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"Noah Webster was a truly remarkable man, shrewd, passionate, learned and energetic, God-fearing and patriotic. Mr. Unger has done a fine job reintroducing him to a new generation of Americans." --Washington Times

Noah Webster The Life and Times of an American Patriot

"More than a lexicographer, Webster was a teacher, philosopher, author, essayist, orator, political leader, public official, and crusading editor. Webster's life thrust him into every major event of the early history of our nation, from the Revolutionary War to the War of 1812. He touched the lives of the most renowned Americans --and the most obscure. He earned the love and friendship of many, the hatred of some, but the respect of all. Noah Webster helped create far more than an American dictionary; he helped create an American nation." --from the Prologue

In the first major biography of Noah Webster in over sixty years, author Harlow Unger creates an intriguing portrait of the United States as an energetic and confident young country, even when independence was fragile and the future unclear. Harlow Unger brilliantly restores Webster's monumental legacy as a teacher,legislator, philosopher, lawyer, editor, and one of history's most profoundly influential lexicographers. Breathtaking adventure--from the American Revolution to the War of 1812--and masterful scholarship converge in this riveting chronicle of a singularly American intellect.

Sujets

Historical

Lettres et linguistique

Biography

Merriam-Webster

Autobiography

Noah Webster

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Publié par	Turner Publishing Company
Date de parution	01 mars 2000
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781620459379
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,1248€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

NOAH WEBSTER
Noah Webster at age sixty-five. Engraving by A. B. Durand from an original portrait (1823) by Samuel F. B. Morse and used as the frontispiece for the first edition of An American Dictionary of the English Language. (Yale Picture Collection, Manuscript and Archives, Yale University Library.)
NOAH WEBSTER
The Life and Times of an American Patriot
Harlow Giles Unger
This book is printed on acid-free paper. Copyright 1998 by Harlow Giles Unger. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc. Published simultaneously in Canada.
Text designed by Sona Lachina in Linotype Didot, based on a typeface family created in 1783 by Firmin Didot and updated for digital technology by Adrian Frutiger in 1992. The sign Typographie de Firmin Didot still hangs at 56 rue Jacob in Paris, where on September 3, 1783, John Adams, John Jay, and Benjamin Franklin signed the Treaty of Paris granting the United States independence. This book was composed by Lachina Publishing Services, Inc.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4744. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, (212) 850-6011, fax (212) 850-6008, E-mail: PERMREQ@WILEY.COM.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Unger, Harlow G.
Noah Webster : the life and times of an american patriot / Harlow
Giles Unger.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-471-18455-1 (acid-free paper)
1. Webster, Noah, 1758-1843. 2. Lexicographers-United States-
Biography. 3. Social reformers-United States-Biography.
4. Educators-United States-Biography I. Title.
PE64.W5U54 1998
423 .092-dc21
98-15707
[B]
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Chronology
Prologue
1 Patriot
2 Schoolmaster
3 Author
4 Yankee Peddler
5 Essayist
6 Public Servant
7 Editor
8 Philosopher
9 Lexicographer
10 Elder Statesman
Epilogue
Notes
Selected Bibliography of Principal Sources
Works by Noah Webster
Manuscript Collections
General References
Index
Illustrations
Noah Webster at sixty-five
Declaration of war against the Pequot
Timothy Dwight
Yale College in the eighteenth century
The alphabet from Webster s speller
The syllabarium and three- and four-letter words
A Grammatical Institute of the English Language
Benjamin Franklin
Noah Webster, the young man
The American Spelling Book
Rebecca Greenleaf Webster
Benjamin Rush
Handwritten page from An American Dictionary
Biblioth que du Roi
Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Circular for Dr. Webster s English Dictionary
Noah Webster s system of instruction
Title page, Webster s American version of the Bible
First page of Genesis, Webster s American version
A collection of Webster s dictionaries
Acknowledgments
Ultimately, it is the editor of every book who transforms it from manuscript into book, from a stack of pages off the word processor into the magnificent product that finds its way into stores, libraries, and homes. The editor of this book is Hana Umlauf Lane, senior editor at John Wiley Sons. It was she who decided to publish the book and guided its metamorphosis so skillfully from manuscript to book, and I thank her first and foremost. She would never have seen the manuscript, however, had it not been for Edward Knappman at New England Publishing Associates, who has been my agent, adviser, and friend, and to whom I owe my deepest thanks. One other person has been equally important in the genesis of this book-Randi Ladenheim Gil, my former editor and, as ever, my good friend.
From the beginning of this project, Sally Whipple, the executive director of Noah Webster House, has given generously of her time and knowledge and placed the resources of that wonderful institution at my disposal. Anne Keirstead, the office manager at Noah Webster House, has also been unstinting in her help.
And of those who have had a direct impact on this work, I owe special thanks to Doris Newnham, my friend and mentor of forty years, for her wise counsel and constant encouragement.
Many archivists and librarians have also contributed generously of their time, knowledge, and resources. Particularly helpful were William R. Massa Jr., public services archivist, and Judith Ann Schiff, chief research archivist, in the Manuscripts and Archives Division of the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University. Nor can I forget the cheerful welcome and enthusiastic help of these other members of the Manuscripts and Archives staff at Yale: Chris Connolly, Anthony P. Massarelli, and Sandy Staton.
Archivists overseas were equally welcoming and helpful-especially Jonathan Smith at the Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge University; S. R. Tomlinson, assistant librarian at the Bodleian Library, Oxford University; Mme. Bernard Billaud, conservateur, Biblioth que Historique de la Ville de Paris, Paris; and Mme. Chassagne and the entire staff at the Biblioth que de I lnstitut de France, Paris.
Douglas Kneeland, a Latin scholar of the highest rank from the Hotchkiss School and Swarthmore College, was particularly helpful by providing what turned out to be a truly difficult translation and evaluation of Noah Webster s complex Latin declamation from his student days at Yale.
I also want to express my sincerest thanks to Diane Aronson at John Wiley Sons and-most especially-to Chuck Antony, the brilliant copy editor who prepared my manuscript for production.
To my friend Doris Newnham and my son Richard
Chronology
1758 October 16. Noah Webster born in West Hartford, Conn.
1770 Boston Massacre.
1773 Boston Tea Party.
1774 NW enrolls at Yale College.
1775 Revolutionary War begins at Lexington and Concord.
1776 Continental Congress signs Declaration of Independence.
1778 NW graduates from Yale.
1779-80 Teaches school in Hartford and West Hartford.
1780-81 Studies law in Litchfield; admitted to the bar; begins work on spelling book.
1783 Practices law in Hartford; publishes A Grammatical Institute of the English Language. England signs peace treaty granting U.S. independence.
1785 NW publishes Sketches of American Policy ; with new form of American constitution and government.
1785-86 NW obtains nation s first state copyright laws. Shays s Rebellion, in Massachusetts.
1786-87 Constitutional Convention, in Philadelphia.
1787-88 NW edits, publishes the American Magazine in New York; Constitution ratified.
1789 George Washington inaugurated as first president; NW marries Rebecca Greenleaf; moves to Hartford to practice law.
1790 First child, Emily, born on August 4.
1792 Washington elected to second term as president.
1793 Second child, Julia, is born. NW moves to New York to publish daily newspaper, American Minerva, and semiweekly Herald; confronts French ambassador-spy Edmond Genet.
1797 Harriet, a third daughter, is born; Vice President John Adams elected to succeed Washington.
1798 NW retires to New Haven to practice law, publish scientific and literary works; publishes monumental History of Epidemic and Pestilential Diseases.
1799 Fourth child, Mary, is born.
1800 Federal government moves to Washington, D.C. Jefferson defeats Adams for the presidency.
1801 First son, William, is born.
1803 Eliza, the sixth Webster child, is born.
1806 NW publishes 40,000-word Compendious Dictionary of the American Language. Second son, Henry Bradford, is born; dies nine weeks later.
1808 Eighth and last child, Louisa, is born. Madison elected to the presidency.
1812 NW moves to Amherst; begins American Dictionary of the English Language. U.S. declares war on Britain; Madison elected to second term.
1814 NW helps organize Hartford Convention; demands changes in Constitution; Federalists threaten secession of Northern states. British burn Washington, D.C.
1819 Webster s favorite child, Mary, dies at 20.
1822-23 NW moves to New Haven; Yale awards him LL.D.
1824-25 Travels to Paris, then Cambridge University, to complete research for dictionary.
1828 Publishes 70,000-word American Dictionary of the English Language.
1830 Convinces Congress to enact new, federal copyright law.
1833 Publishes revised edition of the Holy Bible.
1841 Publishes second edition of An American Dictionary.
1843 May 28. Dies in New Haven; buried in Grove Street cemetery, next to Yale College.
1847 Rebecca Webster dies and is buried beside her husband.
Prologue
Of the thousands of students and tourists who visit Noah Webster s birthplace, in Connecticut, * each year, some, unfortunately, confuse Noah with his distant younger cousin Daniel Webster-often knowing as little about Daniel as they do about Noah. Most, however, realize that Noah s the one who wrote the dictionary and assume that s all he did in the course of his eighty-five years. Webster s name, after all, has always been an American household word. Say dictionary and Americans almost automatically respond, Webster s. Indeed, Webster s dictionary has become so much a part of American daily life that it has obscur