Book Description:
Webster, Noah.
Sketches of American Policy. Under the Following Heads: I. Theory of Government. II. Governments on the Eastern Continent. III. American States; Or the Principles of the American Constitutions Contrasted with Those of European States. IV. Plan of Policy for Improving the Advantages and Perpetuating the Union of the American States.
Hartford: Printed by Hudson and Goodwin, 1785. xix, 48 pp. With a new introduction ('Noah Webster: Proposing and Promoting Stronger National Union Through the Power of the English Language') by John R. Vile, Professor and Chair, Political Science Department, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN. Reprinted 2008 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 978-1-58477-856-1. ISBN-10: 1-58477-856-3. Cloth. $85.
* Although Webster [1758-1843] is remembered today as a lexicographer he was equally active as a political writer. As is the case with his dictionary and grammar textbooks, his political essays are strongly patriotic and embody a confidence that the United States would soon become a great nation. He composed Sketches of American Policy at a time when the nationally minded segments of the political class were beginning to pursue plans to create a strong federal government to replace the Confederation Congress. Seeing this as a necessary step to ensure the nation's progress, Webster endorsed this cause and he wrote this pamphlet to promote it. During his tours throughout the states he presented copies of Sketches to several people who would become delegates to the Constitutional Convention, including George Washington, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin. The pamphlet circulated widely among the delegates and was an important influence in their debates. Interesting for this reason, it is equally valuable as a contemporary critique of the Articles of Confederation by a gifted scholar who associated with the leading statesmen of the day.
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