Some stories about George Washington are too good to be true.

Did George Washington Jr. cut down his father's cherry tree with an axe and then admitted his behavior because he would never tell a lie, even when he was six years old? Did he throw a silver coin across the Potomac River about half a mile wide? Folklorists call these stories legends because many people believe they are true, even if they can't be proved.

Many of the lives of the first president of the United States seem to be legends. After all, George Washington is the first of 45 American presidents, the head of our most widely circulated dollar bill, and the name of our national capital. In many ways, he is great, especially in a marble statue weighing 12 tons at the Smithsonian National History Museum. His chest is very strong.

Even Washington's date of birth is controversial. According to the julian calendar used at that time, he was born in 173 1 February 1 1. When Britain and its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, they removed 1 1 day from the Gregorian calendar to synchronize it with the solar year. So Washington's birthday became February 22nd 1732, 1879 to 197 1 These years are national holidays in the United States, and it is legally designated as the third Monday in February by the unified Monday holiday. Federal law still calls it Washington's birthday, although it is usually called President's Day.

My favorite story about Washington can be traced back to March 1783 in Newburg, new york. The fighting in the revolutionary war stopped more than a year ago, but the Paris Treaty officially ended the war was not signed until September 1783. The drafting of the American Constitution did not begin until May 1787, and Washington was not elected president until early 1789. So in March of 1783, the situation in the United States was very uncertain. The officers and men of the mainland army are very dissatisfied because they have not been paid for several months and want to go home. General Washington is the commander-in-chief of the army, and his hostility towards him is growing day by day. 1780 Washington is headquartered in Newburg on the Hudson River. An unidentified artist attended a meeting on Saturday, March 1783 after 1876 (SAAM). They are considering whether to defect, which surprised a group of officers and even launched a campaign against the US Congress. Washington prepared a speech, now called the Newburg Speech, which he read to the officials present at the meeting. Things didn't go well, but what happened next became a legend.

According to james thomas flexner's biography "Washington:The consumer Man"1969, Washington thought it might be helpful to read a letter he received from a congressman. But when he tried to read the letter, something seemed to go wrong. The general seems confused. He stared helplessly at the newspaper. The officers leaned forward and their hearts contracted with anxiety. Washington took out something from his pocket that only his close friends had seen: a pair of glasses. "Gentlemen," he said, "you allow me to wear glasses, because in the process of serving my country, my hair is not only gray, but also almost blind." This simple move and simple statement did what all the arguments in Washington failed to do. Cried the strong soldier. Washington saved America from tyranny and civil strife.

This is a beautiful story, and an unforgettable story captures Washington's ability to establish contact with the army under his command on a very human level. He is willing to expose his weakness, which is an admirable feature that our military and political leaders may rarely show today. But this story also aroused the suspicion of folklore experts. They know the proverb "If it sounds too good to be true, it is probably true", and they also know that multiple variants usually indicate the folk nature of a story.

Such as a famous urban legend.