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===Webster===

===Webster===

[[Noah Webster]] not only compiled the first and most influential American dictionary, he also wrote a "Blue Backed Speller" that sold millions of copies and was used by most school children in the U.S. from the 1780s to the 1840s. Webster's goal was to provide a uniquely American approach to training children. His most important improvement, he claimed, was to rescue of "our native tongue" from "the clamor of pedantry" that surrounded English grammar and pronunciation. He complained that the English language had been corrupted by the British aristocracy, which set its own standard for proper spelling and pronunciation. Webster rejected the long-standing notion that the study of Greek and Latin must precede the study of English grammar. The appropriate standard for the American language, argued Webster, was "the same [[republicanism|republican]] principles as American civil and ecclesiastical constitutions," which meant that the people-at-large must control the language; popular sovereignty in government must be accompanied by popular usage in language. "The truth is general custom is the rule of speaking&mdash;and every deviation from this must be wrong." <ref>Joseph Ellis, ''After the Revolution: Profiles of Early American Culture'' (1979) p 172.</ref>

[[Noah Webster]] not only compiled the first and most influential American dictionary,<ref> Full text online at [http://books.google.com/books?id=0UM-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:noah+inauthor:webster&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=1 Noah Webster, '' An American dictionary of the English language‎'' (1846), 1079 pages] </ref> he also wrote a "Blue Backed Speller" that sold millions of copies and was used by most school children in the U.S. from the 1780s to the 1840s.<ref> See full text at  [http://books.google.com/books?id=ZkRAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:noah+inauthor:webster&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=1 Noah Webster, ''The American spelling book: containing the rudiments of the English language'' (1827) 168 pages] </ref>

  Webster's goal was to provide a uniquely American approach to training children. His most important improvement, he claimed, was to rescue of "our native tongue" from "the clamor of pedantry" that surrounded English grammar and pronunciation. He complained that the English language had been corrupted by the British aristocracy, which set its own standard for proper spelling and pronunciation. Webster rejected the long-standing notion that the study of Greek and Latin must precede the study of English grammar. The appropriate standard for the American language, argued Webster, was "the same [[republicanism|republican]] principles as American civil and ecclesiastical constitutions," which meant that the people-at-large must control the language; popular sovereignty in government must be accompanied by popular usage in language. "The truth is general custom is the rule of speaking&mdash;and every deviation from this must be wrong." <ref>Joseph Ellis, ''After the Revolution: Profiles of Early American Culture'' (1979) p 172.</ref>