For some reason the other night I wondered "Did George Washington really cut down a cherry tree?" I'd be in trouble if I ever had to go on that show where you compete against 5th graders. It seems that there is no record of George Washington cutting down a cherry tree & saying "I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my little hatchet".
This story first appearsin a Mason Weems book who was trying to make George Washington look very moral. This might have been accomplished easier if the writer had used actual stories from George Washington's life instead of spreading rumors. The rumor was probably a better story & the author was trying to sell books so he could buy some Las Vegas Real Estate. I guess it caught on because if you told this story to your kids then they'd want to be honest too & cut down cherry trees because George Washington is cool. He also didn't wear a wig as is often thought. Instead, he powdered his hair.
1 comment:
Yah, I'd have to say that, as a kid, I totally missed the point to this story. I was like, "You mean I can cut down a TREE and not get in TROUBLE?!"
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