Noah Webster was an all-around do-gooder of the founding generation. He is remembered specifically for his blue-backed speller and the leading role he played in the creation of an American dictionary. In the speller, first published in 1783, he supplied a much-needed textbook. With it and other schoolbooks, Webster helped spread the founding mythos of the republic. In his 1828 dictionary, he built a monument to American authors and usage. But, in the course of a busy remarkable life, Webster made numerous other contributions as well. Webster pioneered the lecture circuit and offered singing lessons for a fee. As a writer and a political thinker, he was known to many of the great names of his time. He visited Mount Vernon to see George Washington, who passed along the young man’s pamphlet,