1.
Dialectic Society Addresses, University Archives. The essay was
written on both sides of an 8 1/4-by-11 1/5-inch sheet which subsequently was
folded into fourths. To the left of
Webb's
signature at the bottom of the essay fellow student
William
Houston
has written "No Mistakes/
Wm Houston
/Sep
t 2
nd 1797." Under
Webb's
signature at the bottom of the essay appears the
following endorsement: "
Wm E. Webb
/2
nd Class/Corrected by/
Wm, Houston
/2 corr." This endorsement appears upside
down with respect to
Webb's
essay, as if it were written on the
"front" of the sheet after it had been folded into quarters.
1. During this period, the
Dialectic
Society divided its members into three classes, which rotated weekly
duties of reading, speaking, and composing.
Webb
was in the second class. Two correctors were elected
every six weeks, and evidently
William
Houston
served as the first corrector of
William Webb's
composition. The second corrector merely
indicated that he had read the essay by writing "2 corr." on the
"front" of it. Society minutes for this period contain gaps, so we
cannot be sure what transpired at the September 2, 1797, meeting. However, on
September 12, 1797,
Webb
was himself elected corrector, serving with
William
Houston
, and on February 1, 1798,
Webb
became president of the Society (Vol. 1, UA). The
Dialectic Society Papers contain a second, longer composition written by
Webb
in September 1797. It treats the relationship between
moral philosophy and the science of government and was corrected by
Houston
on September 21, 1797.