'The expression of ideas'

 

“Language is the expression of ideas, and if the people of one country cannot preserve an identity of ideas they cannot retain an identity of language.” – Noah Webster

 

Born in Hartford, CT on this date in 1758 Webster published a book in 1828 that would change America, if not the world.  But his American Dictionary of the English Language, with 70,000 “American English” words, was not met with unbridled enthusiasm.

 

Many Conservatives said it was “too radical, bordering on vulgar” while Liberals said it was “too conservative in nature.” But Webster said the American people were craving a book like his and he was right.  He self-published 100 thousand copies (a huge endeavor for the time), priced it at 15 cents and took it to everyday people looking for a publication that would “capture the language of a new nation.”  It took the country by storm and sold out in just a few months.

 

 

Despite a partnership with George and Charles Merriam for subsequent versions (creating the Merriam-Webster Dictionaries), Webster’s name became synonymous with the “American language” dictionary.  From the poet Emily Dickinson to schoolchildren across the country having a “Webster’s” was essential to writing success.

 

“Every child,” Webster said, “. . . should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life, practice (and) understanding the history of his own country.”