AMERICAN HISTORY MYTH #2 –  George Washington and the Cherry Tree

            Little is known about George Washington’s father, Augustine. He died when his son was 11.  One thing that is known is he asked his son why he chopped down a cherry tree.  It turns out we don’t even know that.  The cherry tree story was first chronicled in a book by Mason Weems.  Weems was a minister and one purpose of his biography was to make Washington a role model.  He also wanted to make money.  With the death of Washington, he correctly predicted the country would be hungry for information about the Father of Our Country.  He published “The Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington” in 1800 and it was bestseller.  It was not until the 5^th edition that he included the cherry tree story.  The story has the 6-year-old George receiving a hatchet as a gift.  When his father finds one of his cherry trees barked (not cut down), he calls his son over and asks him if he did it.  George says:  “I cannot tell a lie, I did cut it with my hatchet.”  His father forgives him and praises his honesty as being worth a thousand trees.  The story was meant to display Washington’s private virtues to go along with his public achievements.  In 1836, another minister named William McGuffey published his extremely popular Reader. It was used in almost every school, so it shaped the nation’s youth. He included the story but tweaked it a bit.  His story has George being confronted by his father.  With tears in his eyes, he answers the question by saying:  “Father, do I ever tell lies?”  The myth was also passed on by P.T. Barnum.  One of his attractions was a slave he purchased named Joice Heth.  She was old enough to pass for Washington’s nurse as a child.  No one did the math which would have meant she would have to be over 150 years old.  She told the cherry tree story to thousands of people.  She was believed by the gullible to be an eyewitness to the story.  As Barnum said:  “There’s a sucker born every minute.”  There are still elementary teachers who teach the story as though it was true.  However, there is no evidence to support the tale.  Weems claimed he heard it from an elderly woman who was friends with the family.  That doesn’t cut it and even Mount Vernon disputes its veracity.

https://www.history.com/news/top-george-washington-myths-cherry-tree-wooden-teeth

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/cherry-tree-myth

https://www.nps.gov/articles/george-washington-and-the-cherry-tree.htm