Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Book ·128 of 348
"I cannot tell a lie — I chopped down the cherry tree."
They never said that.
What people say
"I cannot tell a lie — I chopped down the cherry tree."
What was actually said
"Mason Locke Weems invented the story in 1806." George Washington — Mason L. Weems, Life of Washington (1806)
Why it stuck
Weems added the cherry tree anecdote in the book's fifth edition, a decade after Washington's death. No contemporary record supports it.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.