Looking for a website that translates letters & speeches by George Washington and others into modern language-

Question

My daughter is reading some of his speeches and letters and having to answer questions about them. We found a "blog" where someone had translated his farewell address and it was helpful, but a little crude and out of character for George Washington. Anyone know of a site or even a book that has done this? Kind of like having different translations of the Bible for better understanding. Hope thats clear.

Answer 1

If you are trying to gain a better understanding of what whe founding fathers speeches and words meant than the best thing to do is research the meanings of words as they were understood at the time.

The original 1808 edition of Webster's Dictionary has be reprinted.  If you can afford to, than buy a copy (it's expensive at about $98). Otherwise, you can find out if it's at your local library or if it's available through interlibrary loan.

Answer 2

NMProf never misses an opportunity to grind the anti-home school ax.

If you're unable to find what you're looking for, you could write your own, it'd be a good excercise in English as well as some possible research.