Noah Webster
Born in West Hartford, Connecticut, Noah Webster was an American lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English-language spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and author. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education". His "Blue-backed Speller" books taught five generations of American children how to spell and read. Webster's name has become synonymous with "dictionary" in the United States. Webster died on May 28, 1843 in New Haven, Connecticut.
" No; the religion which has introduced civil liberty, is the religion of Christ and his apostles, which enjoins humility, piety, and benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a brother, a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free constitutions of government....
The religion of Christ and his apostles, in its primitive simplicity and purity, unencumbered with the trappings of power and the pomp of ceremonies, is the surest basis of a republican government....
Christ and his apostles presented, in their lives, the most perfect example of disinterested benevolence, unaffected kindness, humility, patience in adversity, forgiveness of injuries, love to God, and to all mankind. If men would universally cultivate these religious affections and virtuous dispositions, with as much diligence as they cultivate human science and refinement of manners, the world would soon become a terrestrial paradise."
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" I know not whether I am singular in the opinion; but it is my decided opinion, that the christian religion, in its purity, is the basis or rather the source of all genuine freedom in government. I speak not of the religion which gives the property & power of a state to [maritus] & dignitaries. I speak of the religion which was preached by Christ & his apostles, which breathes love to God & love to man. And I am persuaded that no civil government of a republican form can exist & be durable, in which the principles of that religion have not a controlling influence."
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" The reason why severe laws are necessary in France, is, that people have not been educated republicans - they do not know how to govern themselves [and so] must be governed by severe laws and penalties, and a most rigid administration... Education is useless without the Bible. The Bible was America's basic text book in all fields. God's Word, containined in the Bible, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct."
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Webster, Noah, Political Fanaticism, No. III, The American Minerva. September 21, 1796. (Note: Although this quotation is commonly attributed to Webster and the above listed citation provided - no direct link to this newspaper or its article can currently be found online.)
"...the Bible must be considered as the great source of all truths by which men are to be guided in government, as well as in all social transactions... The first and most important duty of man is to furnish his mind with correct notions respecting God, his laws, and human duty; and then to exert his faculties, and direct his knowledge to the benevolent design of making others wiser and better. It was for these purposes, the revelation of God was given to men; revelations preserved in the Bible, the instrument of all reformation in morals and religion."
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(Note: This was public school instructional material)
Page 43
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"NO man may put off the law of God"
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" O may I not go in the way of Sin!"
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"Who can say he has no sin?"
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" See not my sin, and let me not go into the pit."
Page 44
"This life is not long; but the life to come has no end. We must pray for them that hate us. We must love them that love not us. We must do as we like to be done to."
Page 50
"If you have done wrong, own your fault; for he that tells a lie to hide it, makes it worse."
Page 62
"My son, hear the counsel of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother. If sinners entice thee to sin, consent thou not. walk not in the way with them; refrain thy feet from their path, for their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood."
Page 64
"The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are as bold as a lion. Virtue exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people."
Page 81
"Art thou a young man, seeking for a partner for life? Obey the ordinance of God, and become a useful member of society. But be not in haste to marry, and let thy choice be directed by wisdom. Is a woman devoted to dress and amusement? Is she delighted with her own praise, or an admirer of her own beauty? Is she given to much talking and loud laughter? If her feed abide not at home, and her eyes rove with boldness on the faces of men - turn they feet from her, and suffer not thy heart to be ensnared by thy fancy."
Page 103
"In six days God made the world, and all things that are in it. He made the Sun to shine by day, and the Moon to give light by night. - He made all the beasts that walk on the earth, all the birds that fly in the air, and all the fish that swim in the sea..."
(Note: This was public school instructional material)