Response to these Posts Student 1 Reading the description for this forum in regards to George Washington triggered a movie quote from the film Dazed and Confused. In the film a group of kids discuss how marijuana was a huge cash crop back in the day and that George Washington would grow it up at the top of Mount Vernon and sell it to the southern states for a huge profit. After doing a little research it was proven that George did cultivate hemp at Mount Vernon for industrial purposes. However, hemp is not the strand of cannabis that individuals use as a recreational drug. George Washington used the hemp to make rope, sacks, nets, and clothes. He also cultivated the crop at all 5 of his farms, but did not sell it to the south. He only used the crop for his plantation's needs. Even though it was discussed that the hemp being cultivated would be a better asset than tobacco, the plan to export the hemp fell through due to cost and production costs. I feel that some Americans (mainly the stoners) believe this to be true just because that they heard it from a famous movie. It is not one of the biggest history myths out there, nonetheless, still a myth. I agree with the facts. I don't believe that George Washington would have accomplished all that he had accomplished if was high all the time, as falsely quoted in the Dazed and Confused. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining myth to bust! Cameron “George Washington Grew Hemp.” George Washington's Mount Vernon, www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-man-the-myth/george-washington-grew-hemp. Student 2 After a quick Google search and sorting through the lists of popular myths, some of which I think are still true, the U.S History myth that I have chosen is “Thanksgiving”. The idea that the Pilgrims and the Native American’s sitting around sharing food while realizing they weren’t so different after all is the myth. In reality, the Pilgrims showed up thinking the Native American’s were either sick or dead from the plague thus making it extremely easy to steal their food and be on their way. When I was little we had a school play about Thanksgiving and we all sat around and sang and shared the food because that’s how it was taught to us. I believe history lessons portray this myth as being the reality because it’s easier to explain that scenario to a bunch of school aged kids as opposed to the true nature of the Pilgrims. Amanda Student 3 Good morning class, Today I was reading about a few myths and nothing really stood out to me as mind blown information. Then I stumbled on a web page that had a few myths about Pocahontas. Now, I have two daughters so I watch a lot of Disney movies. I feel as if I am a bit of an expert when it comes to the classic Disney. Then I read today that Pocahontas was not her real name. To me that completely destroyed my childhood memory of an event that not only happened cinematically but also historically. According to an article on History.com, I found out she had a few names. She was called Matoaka and Amonute and then later on as Rebecca. The word Pocahontas means "little playful one" or "little mischief". John Smith was one of the founders of Jamestown, and he wrote her in his letters as Pocahontas. Since he had the most interactions with her, no one ever questioned her name. Starting around 1600 she has been forever known as Pocahontas. I know this is not a huge issue or even a turn of events in any way, but this information put me in shock for a second or two. Again, I watch a lot of Disney movies with my girls and love every one of them. Now that I know that her name is not really Pocahontas, I have to watch that movie with my daughters with the realization that Disney lied to me. The article also mentions a few more myths with Pocahontas, but I'll let you read it for yourselves, so I won't be the one to ruin your childhood. Thank you for your time. Garrickcole Reference Greenspan, J. (2017). 5 Myths about pocahontas. History. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/history-lists/5-myths-about-pocahontas
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