Noah Webster, The Federalist

Slow news day so why not turn to American social and political history? From the good professors at The Edge Of the American West:

On this day in 1828, Noah Webster published An American Dictionary of the English Language. In preparing his opus, Webster apparently learned more than twenty languages, including Sanskrit and Anglo-Saxon. And with approximately 70,000 entries, his dictionary rivaled Samuel Johnson’s eighteenth-century British masterpiece, Dictionary of the English Language, as a reference work. More than that, Webster’s text provided the young United States with a definitive guide to its own language, American English...

Other than his work as a lexicographer, Webster, while attending Yale College during the Revolutionary War, served in the Connecticut Militia. He later pushed for the Constitutional Convention, became a staunch Federalist, edited newspapers, penned political essays, wrote popular textbooks, and served in the Connecticut legislature. But no matter how hard he tried, he never managed to convince his fellow Americans that “women” should more properly be spelled “wimmen,” leaving his life’s labours unfinished. Er, labors.

I know next to nothing about Noah Webster, his political activities after the Revolution though are particularly interesting to me. It appears he would have been right in the center of the action (both ideologically and geographically) as the early republic's political dramas were unfolding. His allegiance to the Federalist Party is certainly intriguing.

While Thomas Jefferson is often cited as the father of the modern Democratic Party I actually think the Federalists, and in particular Alexander Hamilton, are often overlooked in this discussion. Hamilton and the Federalists were arguing for a strong and vigorous national government that could benefit all Americans. Jefferson was, of course, a fierce advocate for small government. Jefferson is looked upon fondly because of his supposed concern for average Americans and Hamilton and the Federalists are scorned for their supposed fealty to elite financial interests. The reality though is much more complex. I admire Hamilton for having the vision and foresight to fight for a government that could effect real and positive change. He envisioned the modern nation, more than 100 years before it was actualized. Jefferson's views seem shortsighted and antiquated in comparison.