Myths About George Washington

Politics/Social Issues - Politics - Other

By: ActorOutOnLoan 16-May-2011

Introduction:

There is no doubt that George Washington, the Father of our Country, was a great man, an inspiring leader, and a brilliant freedom fighter.

He was so great, in fact, that early historians created some parables to ensure that future generations would never forget this truly heroic founding father.

Many of us were taught these stories in school, but the truth is, quite a few of them are fiction! And there are even some "adult-only" rumors about old George. Here are the top 5 myths about George Washington!

The Cherry Tree

We all know that George Washington chopped down a cherry tree, and when confronted by his father, could not tell a lie. But the story isn't true. Kind of ironic, huh?

It was fabricated by historian Mason Locke Weems, who wrote a book about Washington after his death. Weems wanted to use Washington to teach schoolchildren that honesty is a virtue. It worked, and the story is still repeated to this day, even though it never really happened!

The Wooden Teeth

Poor George Washington began losing his teeth at an early age. In fact, he suffered from excruciating toothaches through much of his young adulthood. Later, it was his horribly uncomfortable and poorly fitted false teeth that caused him much suffering during the American Revolution and even during his two terms as President.

But one thing George never had was wooden teeth. His six sets of false teeth were made from hippopotamus ivory, gold, animal teeth, and even human teeth.

The Silver Dollar

George Washington was indeed an unusually strong man. And the legend of him throwing a silver dollar across the Potomac River at Mount Vernon has gone down through the centuries to demonstrate this fact.

But it's just not true. What IS true is that Washington once threw a rock across the 250-feet wide Rappahannock River at his boyhood home of Ferry Farm.

Washington couldn't have and wouldn't have thrown a silver dollar across the Potomac. First, the river is about a mile wide at Mount Vernon. Second, George would never have wasted a dollar!

George Smoked Weed

Considering that Mr. Washington kept extensive, detailed diaries of his time at Mount Vernon, there really isn't any evidence that he ever smoked marijuana. The "joys" of smoking "wacky weed" were not really fully understood or known at the time, and we can be pretty certain that if he were toking, George would have mentioned it in his writings.

What we DO know is that George, like many Virginian farmers of the time, - including Thomas Jefferson - did grow marijuana for it's economic value as hemp. Hemp was commonly used to create rope, clothing and other textile products.

Hemp was less damaging to the soil than the more popular tobacco, but after a short hemp boom, it ultimately did not prove to be a very effective money-maker, mostly due to quality issues.

George Died of Syphilis

How, where, when and why this rumor came to be remains unclear. Perhaps in our hunger for scandal and conspiracy, we sometimes go too far.

There has been perhaps no death in American history more chronicled and written about than the night of December 14, 1799. In all the details given by those at Washington's deathbed, including three doctors, there is no mention of even one symptom consistent with syphilis.

Though we can't be absolutely sure how Washington died, modern doctors have theorized that it was most likely diptheria, streptococcus or acute epiglottitis aggravated by shock brought on by rapid bloodletting.

Final Thoughts

Despite the blurry mix of fact and fiction, most Americans thankfully know that George Washington was a great man, without whom our country of freedom and liberty might not have been born.