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Creating the Father of Our Country
Mason Locke Weems’s biography of George Washington became the most widely read 19th century book about the Revolutionary War and its celebrated hero. Weems recounted many familiar anecdotes about Washington, including the famous story of the cherry tree, and helped to establish a national narrative that cemented Founding Fathers in our national consciousness. Washington’s stature as Father of our Country is borne out by the dozens of pageants and plays that celebrated the bicentennial of his birth and continue today. |