The list is given three times, in two different formats. In the first part, both the simplified spellings and the "traditional" spellings are listed. In the second, the simplified spellings are all listed but in general the equivalents are not. The second part is given one time in 12-point type, then again in 10-point type to fit on a single page. At the end is a note on how certain spellings became standard in American English.

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The spellings in boldface on the left side of each column are the Simplified Spelling Board’s 300 simpler spellings which U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt designated for use in government documents in August 1906:

(Note: About half of the "simplified spellings" here (e.g. color, center, traveled, and judgment ) were already the standard American spellings and had been the ones used in all U.S. government documents for the previous four decades. It was only the other 150 or so spellings (e.g. stept, catalog, thru, and partizan ) that were actually being newly implemented. See brief discussion at the end of this on how certain spellings became standard in American English.)

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These are the Simplified Spelling Board’s 300 simpler spellings which U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt designated for use in government documents in August 1906:

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Some have said that American English now uses spellings such as color, center, defense, check meaning a "bank draft," traveled, and judgment because U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed use of 300 simpler spellings in 1906 which included color, defense, etc.

However, that is not the reason why those spellings became standard in American usage. The "distinctive" American spellings such as color and defense were already the standard American spellings in 1906, and were the spellings already used in all U.S. government documents. These are the spellings which Noah Webster had included as the preferred forms in his dictionaries (the main one published in 1828), and which had become the standard, most commonly used American spellings during the mid-19th century.

In 1864, the U.S. government made spellings such as color the official ones to be used in all government documents.

Why then were these spellings on the list of 300 simpler spellings which Roosevelt issued in 1906? Roosevelt didn’t come up with the list himself, but was taking a list that had been put together by the Simplified Spelling Board. Of the 300 spellings, about half were spellings such as color and traveled which were already the standard U.S. forms. The other half were variant or reformed spellings. Roosevelt apparently used the entire list instead of, say, selectively choosing just the 150 or so spellings that were variants or reformed spellings. (A short bibliography is given below, and Roosevelt’s exact reason could not be found in those sources.)

Then we ask, why did the Simplified Spelling Board include spellings that were already the standard forms? No reason could be found in the sources listed below so one can only speculate, but here are two possible reasons. For one, while color, etc. were the standard, commonly-used American spellings in 1906, there were some American publications still using spellings such as colour, centre, defence, cheque, travelled, and judgement. Perhaps color, center, etc. were on the list to encourage those who were using colour, centre, etc. to use color, center, etc. instead. Another possibility is that the Spelling Board thot having many spellings on the list which were the standard, preferred forms might lend additional credence or cachet to the entire list.

Another fact to note is that altho Roosevelt proclaimed that all of the Simplified Spelling Board’s simpler spellings were to be used in government documents, the U.S. Congress subsequently passed legislation which had the effect of overruling and rescinding this order! Roosevelt’s order was only fleeting.

Now there are a few of the spellings on the Simplified Spelling Board’s list which were variant / reformed spellings in 1906 and have since become the standard, preferred American spellings. Research found nine cases: Anaesthetic, anaesthesia, axe, catalogue, despatch, hiccough, programme, sulphur, and sulphate were the standard American spellings in 1906, and today (2001) anesthetic, anesthesia, ax, catalog, dispatch, hiccup, program, sulfur, and sulfate are the standard American spellings.

To what degree the acceptance of these nine spellings can be attributed to Theodore Roosevelt’s actions is debatable. The changes in these spellings occurred at different times during the 20th century. Programme and sulphur shifted to program and sulfur in American English in the first few decades of the 20th century, but the shifts from axe and catalogue to ax and catalog have come toward the last few decades of the 20th century.

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Dr. Grover (Russ) Whitehurst Director, Institute of Education Sciences, Assistant Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of Education
Dr. Jack Shonkoff Chair, The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child; Co-Editor: From Neurons to Neighborhoods
Siegfried Engelmann Professor of Instructional Research, University of Oregon; Creator of Direct Instruction
Dr. Edward Kame'enui Commissioner for Special Education Research, U.S. Department of Education; Director, IDEA, University of Oregon
Dr. G. Reid Lyon Past Director, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Dr. Keith Stanovich Canadian Chair of Cognitive Science, University of Toronto
Dr. Mel Levine Co-Chair and Co-Founder, All Kinds of Minds; Author: A Mind at a Time, The Myth of Laziness & Ready or Not Here Life Comes
Dr. Alex Granzin School District Psychologist, Past President, Oregon School Psychologists Association
Dr. James J. Heckman Nobel Laureate, Economic Sciences 2000; Lead Author: The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children
Dr. Timothy Shanahan President (2006) International Reading Association, Chair National Early Literacy Panel, Member National Reading Panel
Nancy Hennessy President, 2003-2005, International Dyslexia Association
Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams Senior Scientist, Soliloquy Learning, Author: Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print
Dr. Michael Merzenich Chair of Otolaryngology, Integrative Neurosciences, UCSF; Member National Academy of Sciences
Dr. Maryanne Wolf Director, Center for Reading & Language Research; Professor of Child Development, Tufts University
Dr. Todd Risley Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Alaska, Co-author: Meaningful Differences
Dr. Sally Shaywitz Neuroscientist, Department of Pediatrics, Yale University, Author: Overcoming Dyslexia
Dr. Louisa Moats Director, Professional Development and Research Initiatives, Sopris West Educational Services
Dr. Zvia Breznitz Professor, Neuropsychology of Reading & Dyslexia, University of Haifa, Israel
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Dr. Richard Venezky Professor, Educational Studies, Computer and Information Sciences, and Linguistics, University of Delaware
Dr. Keith Rayner Distinguished Professor, University of Massachusetts, Author: Eye Movements in Reading and Information Processing
Dr. Paula Tallal Professor of Neuroscience, Co-Director of the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University
Dr.John Searle Mills Professor of the Philosophy of Mind and Language, University of California-Berkeley, Author: Mind, A Brief Introduction
Dr.Mark T. Greenberg Director, Prevention Research Center, Penn State Dept. of Human Development & Family Studies; CASEL Leadership Team
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Chris Doherty Ex-Program Director, National Reading First Program, U.S. Department of Education
Dr. Erik Hanushek Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Dr. Marketa Caravolas Director, Bangor Dyslexia Unit, Bangor University, Author: International Report on Literacy Research
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Dr. Peter Leone Director, National Center on Education, Disability and Juvenile Justice
Dr. Thomas Cable Professor of English, University of Texas at Austin, Co-author: A History of the English Language
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Dr. Anne Cunningham Director, Joint Doctoral Program in Special Education, Graduate School of Education at University of California-Berkeley
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Dr.Johanna Drucker Chair of Media Studies, University of Virginia, Author: The Alphabetic Labyrinth
John H. Fisher Medievalist, Leading authority on the development of the written English language, Author: The Emergence of Standard English
Dr. Malcolm Richardson Chair, Dept. of English, Louisiana State University; Research: The Textual Awakening of the English Middle Classes
James Wendorf Executive Director, National Center for Learning Disabilities
Leonard Shlain Physician; Best-Selling Author: The Alphabet vs. The Goddess
Robert Sweet Co-Founder, National Right to Read Foundation

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Background Research Notes: CODE REFORM (ATTEMPTS) HISTORY

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