Joshua Kendall, author of 'The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture,' presents a new look at Noah Webster's role in defining American culture.

Noah Webster was more than just America’s greatest lexicographer. He was also a Founding Father who helped define American culture. In 1783, he published the first edition of his legendary spelling book, which would teach five generations of Americans how to read. A leading Federalist, who was a confidant of both George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, Webster was in Philadelphia during the Consitutional Convention where he wrote a highly influential essay on behalf of the nation’s founding document. During the greater part of the 1790s, he edited American Minerva, New York City’s first daily newspaper.