300. Progress in Letters.--There was also great progress in learning. The school system was constantly improved. Especially was this the case in the West, where the government devoted one thirty-sixth part of the public lands to education. High schools were founded, and soon normal schools were added to them. Even the colleges awoke from their long sleep. More students went to them, and the methods of teaching were improved. Some slight attention, too, was given to teaching the sciences. In 1828 Noah Webster published the first edition of his great dictionary. Unfortunately he tried to change the spelling of many words. But in other ways his dictionary was a great improvement. He defined words so that they could be understood, and he gave the American meaning of many words, as "congress." American writers now began to make great reputations. Cooper, Irving, and Bryant were already well known. They were soon joined by a wonderful set of men, who speedily made America famous. These were Emerson, Lowell, Longfellow, Holmes, Hawthorne, Prescott, Motley, Bancroft, and Sparks. In science, also, men of mark were beginning their labors, as Pierce, Gray, Silliman, and Dana. Louis Agassiz before long began his wonderful lectures, which did much to make science popular. In short, Jackson's administration marks the time when American life began to take on its modern form. [Illustration: NOAH WEBSTER.] CHAPTER 29 THE REIGN OF ANDREW JACKSON, 1829-1837 [Sidenote: Jackson's early career.] [Sidenote: His "kitchen cabinet".] 301. General Jackson.--Born in the backwoods of Carolina, Jackson had early crossed the Alleghanies and settled in Tennessee. Whenever trouble came to the Western people, whenever there was need of a stout heart and an iron will, Jackson was at the front. He always did his duty. He always did his duty well. Honest and sincere, he believed in himself and he believed in the American people. As President he led the people in one of the stormiest periods in our history. Able men gathered about him. But he relied chiefly on the advice of a few friends who smoked their pipes with him and formed his "kitchen cabinet." He seldom called a regular cabinet meeting. When he did call one, it was often merely to tell the members what he had decided to do. [Sidenote: Party machines.] [Sidenote: The Spoils System.]