Title: The forgotten founding father
Description: Noah Webster's name is now synonymous with the dictionary he created, but his story is not nearly as ubiquitous. Webster hobnobbed with various founding fathers and was a young confidant of George Washington and Ben Franklin. He started New York's first daily newspaper, predating Alexander Hamilton's New York Post. His "blue-backed speller" for schoolchildren sold millions of copies and influenced early copyright law. But perhaps most important, Webster was an ardent supporter of a unified, definitively American culture, distinct from the British, at a time when the United States of America were anything but unified -- and his dictionary of American English is a testament to that. - Back cover.
Subjects: Lexicographers, Biography, English language, Social reformers, Lexicography, Webster, noah, 1758-1843, English language, lexicography, Linguists, English language, united states
Places: United States
People: Noah Webster (1758-1843)