The second nGram linked there (showing the rise of fulfill - with 2 l's in American English)[1] seems to show that the increase in use of 2 l's started around t

The second nGram linked there (showing the rise of fulfill - with 2 l's in American English)[1] seems to show that the increase in use of 2 l's started around the same time as Noah Webster's dictionary was first published. [2] I've always been fascinated why there is such a difference between spelling in "British" and "American" English, I remember reading that the main reason was Webster's dictionary and his desire to reform spelling according to pronunciation. That Wikipedia article though quotes John Algeo: "He was very influential in popularizing certain spellings in America, but he did not originate them." So now I'm as confused as ever. Why DID the spellings change so significantly. I can accept that they took hold due to Webster's work, but I wonder why the differences arose in the first place? [1] https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=fulfil%2Cfulfill&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=5&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cfulfil%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cfulfill%3B%2Cc0 https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=fulfil%2Cfulfi... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Webster#Dictionary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Webster#Dictionary