Why Americans Drop the British “U”
Noah Webster’s first American dictionary and the revolution it brought to language in a new nation.
In 1775, a revolution was brewing in the American colonies — a war that was to shape the country and change it forever. At Yale College in Connecticut, a sixteen-year-old farmer’s son with a fire for independence and a love of education was studying hard and wishing he could enlist in the growing colonist militias. His name was Noah Webster, and his name was to become a household word in generations to come: the man who defined our language. Later in life he would write two dictionaries that would, like the revolution, help shape and unify America and its education, making him worthy to be counted among our Founding Fathers.
While still in college, Webster served in the Connecticut militia. The militia saw no combat during the eight years of war, but that did not quench Noah Webster’s enthusiasm for liberty. His college classes suffered somewhat during the war, but Webster’s fervor for education wasn’t dampened, either.
Writing and copyrighting
After college, he worked as a schoolmaster to put himself through law school. Though he received his law degree in 1781, he did not practice law until 1789. He was busy writing a…
