In 1800, a Bible salesman named Parson Weems published a book about George Washington. It pictured America's Revolutionary War General and first U.S. President as a man who never told a lie, who chopped down a cherry tree as a child, who once threw a silver dollar across the Potomac; who was, in short, a statue on a pedestal bearing little or no resemblance to any actual living human being. Of course, Washington was nothing at all like Weems's portrayal of him. He was a real person, and an interesting one at that.
Did George Washington Ever Tell a Lie?
Like all politicians, George occasionally had to "spin" the truth or use his consummate people skills to sway opinion in his favor.
After the Battle of Brandywine in 1777, Washington spread the story that the British troops had suffered more casualties than the Americans. In reality, the American side had lost twice as many soldiers as the British; but Washington did not think the colonists could handle this fact and still support the revolution.
