The Lies George Washington Told

George Washington is no honest Abe. Based on an aggregate ranking of presidents' perceived success from the point of view of academic historians and political scientists or popular opinion, the Founding Father placed third, just below Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

But the fight for American independence, as with all nations' fight for liberty, was neither an easy path nor one without compromise.

George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and other Founding Fathers are remembered today as virtuous creators of a bold new democracy. But they were also cunning manipulators of their information environment—a side of the founding story that has often been neglected by history.

Amy Zegart at The Atlantic has more on this story.

(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)