How believable is Weems’ book on Washington? Mason Locke Weems wrote a biography on George Washington called “The Life of Washington”. Weems was also an American minister, as well as an evangelical bookseller and author. According to Google Books, “The effect of this “single, immortal, and dubious anecdote,” and others like it, has made this book one of the most influential in the history of American folklore. Originally published as an eighty-page pamphlet entitled The Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington, it quickly attained immense popularity.” So one reason that this book gained popularity so quickly was because the book was about George Washington. 

This book has many of Washingtons accomplishments in his life including times from his childhood and private life. Some of these stories are true, but there are many that aren’t, because we don’t know much about Washington. Weems probably just filled in the gaps in Washingtons life with stories to make Washington sound like a great person. How believable is Weems’ book on Washington? I don’t think that it’s very believable, but I’ll tell you some of the stories and let you decide for yourself. One of the stories is that when George Washington was just a kid, he threw a stone across the Rappahannock river. This is not believable because the Rappahannock river is over 300 Yards in length. There are some people that can do this like professional baseball players, but it is very unlikely for Washington to do this. Like I said, Many of these stories are meant to make Washington sound like a great person. Weems kept stating how Washington won every race he ran, because he was very fast. This might have been possible, but not likely. He says that the angels in Heaven love Washington and will bear him up into Heaven. This is also not true. He also tells the famous story about Washington cutting down a cherry tree, but this is just a story to teach kids about lying. 

This book is not very believable, because Weems makes Washington sound like the greatest person ever, but this isn’t true. You may have a different opinion, but this is mine.