Stuff You Missed in History Class

Webster, Worcester and the Dictionary Wars, Part 2


Listen Later

Noah Webster Jr. and Joseph Emerson Worcester were both born in New England, both went to Yale, and both compiled multiple dictionaries during their lifetimes. But they were very different men, and those differences led to a lot of conflict. 

Research:

  • "Joseph Emerson Worcester." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2310000221/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=28ed0fad. Accessed 13 June 2023.
  • "Joseph Emerson Worcester." Oxford Reference. . . Date of access 13 Jun. 2023, https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803124726182
  • Amherst College Library. “An Exhibit Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Noah Webster’s Birth October 16, 1758.” Archives and Special Collections Department. https://www.amherst.edu/library/archives/exhibitions/webster
  • Bartels, Paul S. "Webster, Noah." American Governance, edited by Stephen Schechter, et al., vol. 5, Macmillan Reference USA, 2016, pp. 291-293. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3629100736/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=3724fc61. Accessed 13 June 2023.
  • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Joseph Emerson Worcester". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Emerson-Worcester. Accessed 13 June 2023.
  • Cassedy, Tim. “’A Dictionary Which We Do Not Want’: Defining America against Noah Webster, 1783–1810.” The William and Mary Quarterly , Vol. 71, No. 2 (April 2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5309/willmaryquar.71.2.0229
  • Cmiel, Kenneth. "Dictionaries." Dictionary of American History, edited by Stanley I. Kutler, 3rd ed., vol. 3, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003, pp. 22-23. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3401801214/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=b1842afb. Accessed 13 June 2023.
  • Dobbs, Christopher. “Noah Webster and the Dream of a Common Language.” Connecticut History. 5/28/2021. https://connecticuthistory.org/noah-webster-and-the-dream-of-a-common-language/
  • Garner, Bryan A. "Under an Orthographic Spell: Part I." National Review, vol. 75, no. 2, 6 Feb. 2023, p. 50. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A734881576/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=705eb3a3. Accessed 13 June 2023.
  • Garner, Bryan A. "Under an Orthographic Spell: Part II." National Review, vol. 75, no. 4, 6 Mar. 2023, p. 46. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A737639557/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=59f8ff8f. Accessed 13 June 2023.
  • McDavid, Raven I.. "Noah Webster". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 May. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Noah-Webster-American-lexicographer. Accessed 14 June 2023.
  • McHugh, Jess. “The Nationalist Roots of Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.” The Paris Review. 3/30/2018. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/03/30/noah-websters-american-english/
  • Merriam-Webster. “Noah Webster and America's First Dictionary.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/about-us/americas-first-dictionary
  • Micklethwait, David. “Ghost-hunting?: The Search for Henry Bohn's First Worcester Dictionary.” Dictionaries: Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America, Volume 38, Issue 1, 2017, pp. 47-66. https://doi.org/10.1353/dic.2017.0001
  • Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society. “Noah Webster History.” https://noahwebsterhouse.org/noahwebsterhistory/
  • Skinner, David. “Noah Webster, Chronicler of Disease.” HUMANITIES, Spring 2021, Volume 42, Number 2. https://www.neh.gov/article/noah-webster-chronicler-disease
  • Yazawa, Melvin. “Webster, Noah.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/68670

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Stuff You Missed in History ClassBy iHeartPodcasts

  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2

4.2

23,346 ratings


More shows like Stuff You Missed in History Class

View all
Stuff You Should Know by iHeartPodcasts

Stuff You Should Know

78,688 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,837 Listeners

Lore by Aaron Mahnke

Lore

44,999 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,242 Listeners

Stuff To Blow Your Mind by iHeartPodcasts

Stuff To Blow Your Mind

5,667 Listeners

The History Chicks : A Women's History Podcast by The History Chicks | AIRWAVE

The History Chicks : A Women's History Podcast

8,030 Listeners

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know by iHeartPodcasts

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

10,365 Listeners

Bobby Bones Presents: The BobbyCast by Nashville Podcast Network

Bobby Bones Presents: The BobbyCast

4,706 Listeners

Ologies with Alie Ward by Alie Ward

Ologies with Alie Ward

24,585 Listeners

This Podcast Will Kill You by Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

This Podcast Will Kill You

17,003 Listeners

Ridiculous History by iHeartPodcasts

Ridiculous History

4,561 Listeners

American History Tellers by Audible

American History Tellers

19,197 Listeners

We Knows Parenting by iHeartPodcasts

We Knows Parenting

248 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,512 Listeners

The Fred Show Feels Good News by The Fred Show

The Fred Show Feels Good News

8 Listeners

Noble Blood by iHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild

Noble Blood

13,595 Listeners

Project Listen by iHeartPodcasts

Project Listen

8 Listeners

Point of Origin by iHeartPodcasts and Whetstone Media

Point of Origin

350 Listeners

Special Teams by iHeartPodcasts

Special Teams

63 Listeners

HISTORY This Week by The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios

HISTORY This Week

4,214 Listeners

We're Having a Moment by iHeartPodcasts

We're Having a Moment

249 Listeners

Drafted by iHeartPodcasts and Treefort Media

Drafted

142 Listeners

Abortion: The Body Politic with Katie Couric by iHeartPodcasts

Abortion: The Body Politic with Katie Couric

238 Listeners

Jill Scott Presents: J.ill the Podcast by iHeartPodcasts

Jill Scott Presents: J.ill the Podcast

1,550 Listeners

Prompt Us by iHeartPodcasts

Prompt Us

839 Listeners

Money Moves Powered By Greenwood by iHeartPodcasts

Money Moves Powered By Greenwood

63 Listeners

Maxine Miles by iHeartPodcasts

Maxine Miles

277 Listeners

Burke In The Game by iHeartPodcasts

Burke In The Game

159 Listeners

Angie Martinez IRL by iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

Angie Martinez IRL

1,045 Listeners

On-Call with Kay-B by iHeartPodcasts

On-Call with Kay-B

18 Listeners

Stealing Superman by iHeartPodcasts

Stealing Superman

191 Listeners

Playing Dirty: Sports Scandals by iHeartPodcasts

Playing Dirty: Sports Scandals

59 Listeners

IDEA GENERATION's All Angles by iHeartPodcasts

IDEA GENERATION's All Angles

34 Listeners

Health Stuff by iHeartPodcasts

Health Stuff

30 Listeners