Johnny Appleseed is a legend because he was based on a real person that existed, John Chapman, who was born in Massachusetts in the later 1700s, and moved to Ohio River Valley, where he started planting apples. He did not get the name “Johnny Appleseed” until after his death. John Chapman died in 1845, and General Sam Houston stood before congress, and said, “Farewell, dear old eccentric heart. Your labor of love, andw generations yet unborn will rise up and call you blessed.”

Johnny Appleseed traveled around different states in North America planting apples seeds. In the story Johnny tells his brother Nathaniel, he is “an apple missionary.” This means that instead of spreading religion to the people from the different states, or donating money, he is giving them apples.

I think why people like Johnny Appleseed, and pass down his story, is because he had the qualities of a person who made great contributions to North America. He possessed qualities which Americans really value. He did all of America a good deed, because he moved to different states, and gave the people apples in different orchards. What he did was also valued because it was a tradition of native people who helped nature to become a garden.

A quality that Johnny Appleseed has that Americans value is self sufficiency. Self sufficiency is being able to help or provide a necessity without other help. Johnny Appleseed planted apples on a new frontier, a blank canvas, so he could help the travelers. He was not just helping himself, he was helping others heading west.

Native American Indians have a strong work ethic, and European settlers also value hard work. All Americans value it. People represent themselves with what they can do, and Johnny Appleseed planted apples for the people traveling west. He created an environment. He walked all day sharing seeds, and planting. He never quit. He believed in the power of apples, and spent his whole life walking on a quest.

Volunteers are really valued by Americans. Johnny Appleseed planted to apples just to help the travelers out, he wasn’t asked. It was his choice to give the people apples to eat. He was fulfilling an uninfluenced mission. Not asking for money or praise. Giving to America.

“Folks will have all the apples they can eat.” -Johnny Appleseed, telling his brother Nathaniel he is going to give his donation to America in apples.