Poems and Thoughts    by Frank Maurer

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Webster's 'Blue Back Speller' (used by black slaves). Noah Webster's early career was as a school teacher. His one-room school housed 6- to 16-year-olds. There were no American texts, only British ones, With British geography and British spelling like colour vs color. Webster decided to write an American equivalent, Titled 'A Grammatical Institute of the English Language: Part I, Too complex a title so it was nicknamed the 'Blue Back Speller,' And called such because of its iconic blue paper-covered Spine and the two book boards. It was a handy size, fitting into one's pocket. Oh, and it could be cryptically hidden and concealed. Perfect for slaves to use it illegally to learn reading. The rest tells itself regarding the outcome. Webster did not become famous because he wrote it, But rather the book became famous because of its readers. The book was dry and difficult and off-putting. The book did not entice reading, rather learners flocked to its pages. It was the terrible urge of those to learn to read at all costs! Frank Maurer 4 July 2026. 1310 Hours.