[manv1]

You don't need to read the "legends", because their lives and writings exist and are still extant.

You can go and read the Federalist Papers, the notes and minutes of the various conventions, the letters, articles, and books that they've written. Did George Washington chop down a cherry tree? Probably not. Did he thwart a coup attempt? Yes, he most certainly did.

Same with the other guys.

As Revolutionaries go they're the most successful band of revolutionaries by far, in that their work is still going and hasn't failed miserably like the work of those "other" revolutionaries.