In this stunningly original reinterpretation of the New World, Grandin reveals how the United States …
Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary defined America as divided by North and South at Darién, or Panama, but still as comprising a single continent. An American was “a native of America; originally applied to the aboriginals, or copper-colored races, found here by the Europeans; but now applied to the descendants of Europeans born in America.” Two years later, Webster’s dropped the reference to Panama from its definition and simply described America as “one of the great continents,” still implying a unified geographical area. Yet from this point forward, the growing list of entries defining variations of America (Americanism, Americanize, for example) suggests an evolution, from America referring to the entire New World to America referring to one nation in particular. […] Then, in 1847, the dictionary added to its definition of American the clause: “especially to inhabitants of the United States.”