Did George Washington Really Exist?

I just don’t know if I believe that George Washington ever existed. I mean, how am I supposed to believe that a man was able to lead a ragtag group of individuals to fight against the top military in the world? On top of that, he become leader of a new country, which later became the most powerful institution on earth? I think people of the time needed a figure to rally around, during an unnerving time in world history.

I am open to the idea that maybe he was real, but not the commander or leader that people made him out to be. Maybe he was just a good person, who taught that freedom was a good thing. Then, over time, he was shaped to be something he was not. I mean, look at some supposed famous things that happened in his life:

• He started his military career early.
• He was called General.
• He led an insurrection against the most powerful country at the time.
• He famously crossed over a river to attack. 
• His military success led to a new kind of government coming forth. 
• After the war was over, he was offered a crown, but never took it. 

Now, look at Julius Caesar and see how he compares to the figure of ‘George Washington”:

• He started his military career early.
• He was called General.
• He led an insurrection against the most powerful country at the time. 
• He famously crossed over a river to attack the ruling government.
• His military success led to a new kind of government coming forth.
• After the war was over, he was offered a crown, but never took it. 

Isn’t a little too coincidental that ‘George Washington’ looks a lot like a very well-known historical figure?

I know what some people might be saying:

• "Well, don't we have historical documents about him?"  Well, yes we do. But a lot of them are biased, as they were written by pro-American forces. As for the British sources, it could be that American spies intercepted messages and inserted writings about Washington to stir up paranoia. It seems like their propaganda machine worked just fine.
• "Didn't contemporaries make paintings of him?" People have made paintings about Zeus. Does he exist? How about if I made a painting of a Sasquatch, does it meant his mythical figure actually exists? Or does it mean I am creating an image based on what myth tellers have stated over the years?
• "Don't we have his body?" Well, maybe we do. Maybe we don't. Have you ever seen the body? Do you trust the pro-Washington supporters to tell you the truth regarding whether or not  that is really the body of a man named George Washington? But, let us say it is the body of a man named Washington. Does that mean that he was whoever we claim he is now? No. It just means that a man named Washington lived a long time ago, and died a long time ago. Nothing special about him.
• "Why is this country so devoted to the name of Washington, if he didn't exist?" Why are so many people devoted to Scientology? Isn't that based on Science-Fiction? If you promote a belief hard enough, there will people who believe it, especially uneducated masses (like the ones that existed in the 1700's & 1800's). Once you get a few people to believe something so much, it will snowball over time, until many people believe that something as the truth.

George Washington is a figure that the uneducated masses can look up to. He was humble, honest, and he supposedly willingly gave up power? Does that sound like any sort leader that you can think of today? No. Why? Perhaps Washington never existed. Or, if he did, he was never really the person we think of today.


Now, if you think the above is a bunch of steaming crap, imagine how I feel when the same exact arguments are used to try to discredit the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. And just as it easy to poke holes through what I wrote above, it is very easy to poke holes through the arguments of internet scholars who claim they know that Jesus never existed. Whether it is claims of Jesus-Mything (Jesus was a figure created by meshing together pagan myths), claims of exaggeration (Maybe there was a person named Jesus, but he was just a lowly teacher, nothing special), claims of bias (Early Christians forged documents by secular and opposing writings, so you can't trust those, nor can you trust the writings of early Christians), or claims of the masses being duped due to poor education (People want to believe the stories, because they are afraid of the truth of life and death and need comfort), all are easily countered with strong arguments that never get answered back.

These times are hard. Never have we had so much information available to us, yet never have there been so many people repeating misinformation. The internet is a wonderful tool for learning, but also for disseminating false claims. Don't believe everything you read. Read opposing arguments. If someone can't respond to opposing arguments, it might be safe to assume their initial claim doesn't hold much ground. Again, just because it is on the internet, and people repeat it, doesn't mean it is true. Check out the facts for yourself, or you might end up believing that George Washington was a fake character created by American propaganda machines.

-Thomas