An American in Pennsylvania might speak German, one in New York knew nothing but Dutch, and a citizen of Illinois used French exclusively. Some suggested German be the national tongue, while others suggested Hebrew. There was even a push to rename the English spoken in America as Columbian. Not only would a uniform language help secure an American identity; Noah knew it would smooth the way for its new govern- ment, “It is obvious to my mind, that popular errors proceeding from a misunderstanding of words are among the efficient causes of political disorders,” he said. With future success in mind, Noah had a goal: a wordbook cre- ated by a patriotic American for all Americans which defined all the words of the new country. He was focused on writing “a dic- tionary, which shall exhibit a far more correct state of the language than any work of this kind.”
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