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Innovators and Inventions: The Course to Change, Page 8

Noah WebsterImportance of Education

As the quest for intellectual knowledge grew, there was a trend growing in America during the late 1700s that pushed education onto the forefront of society. A key leader in this movement was Noah Webster. Webster was a graduate of Yale University in 1778 who taught school as a means of making money to save for law school. However, after graduating from law school in 1781 and establishing his practice, he discovered that he did not enjoy his chosen profession and wanted to make a change, so he returned to teaching.

New York

In 1793, Webster moved to New York City, where he served as editor for a Federalist newspaper. In December of that same year he founded New York’s first daily newspaper, America Minerva. In 1798 Webster returned to his birthplace of New Haven, Connecticut, where he served in the Connecticut House of Representatives on and off between 1800 and 1807.

New Haven, CT