America, in the beginning, was under control of the nation’s first Commander-in Chief, General George Washington. George Washington led the Continental Army to becoming free of Britain’s rule during the American Revolutionary War. Later he would become the first President of the United States and considered the father of America. He was a much-respected man and viewed as a hero for defeating their once tyrannical leaders. Historians still praise President Washington to this day for his successful leadership in North America. In this novel, Lengel exposes the many people who attempted at slandering Washington 's personal character, his life, and his religious views for their own benefit. Although some of these people looking for an easy dollar …show more content…
Weems receives the credit for the cherry tree myth that so many of us know to this very day and use this to give an exaggerated reason for Washington 's honesty. He used this wild story to gain any small amount of wealth he could grab from the unsuspecting people of this time. He weaved stories to teach lessons on behalf of Washington to further his point that he was such a great leader. President Abraham Lincoln admitted to reading the stories as a young boy to help shape him into the great president he had later become. By making up these stories to heighten Washington’s stature, people admired and perceived him as a religious man, even though there is no evidence to support that he was a devout Christian. Not only is there no evidence of Washington being a religious man, he once said that he was a man of moral code and just did what was …show more content…
Inventing George Washington reminds one to look at the author of historical documents and their purpose or personal gain for writing. One should take the facts and gather information to make ones ' own opinion on the subject or person at hand. Just as writings and oral communications can be recorded for public record, it can also be distorted, exaggerated or even belittled to the beholder’s opinion. This all depends on the reporter 's viewpoint, however. This can be seen in the recent campaign for presidency reports from various media sources as they tend to stretch the truth or even hide the things that make their candidate