Washington placed the control of his image, character and reputation as a personal priority. He realized that the American people placed an inordinate amount of hope for their fragile cause in George Washington. He became less a person and more a symbol for a cause. As his profile and reputation grew in the public arena, he invariably found himself guarding against any overly jubilant, sad, or angry expressions and instead choosing a more taciturn persona. Alas, this is some deliberate mythology constructed by Parson Mason Weems well over 100 years ago.
Fables are valuable, and actually help bind cultures together.
The social philosophy of such noted thinkers as Joseph Campbell easily reveal fables as a means to provide the concept of greater powers that guide and bind our secular lives. This was most likely the intention of Parson Weems, much like Plutarch had done some 2,000 years prior when he completed the fable stories of the first Roman Republican Kings in Plutarch's Lives. Interestingly Washington was exposed to Plutach and was seemingly inspired by the figures therein - especially Cincinnatus. Yet 21st century America has changed and in some ways has outgrown, for better or worse, the simplicity of the Weems fables of Washington. Many letters by George Washington, or about him during his life, are available at both the University of Virginia, as well as the Library of Congress.