He Was Sure He Was Right: Davy Crockett, the Coonskin Politician

Many of us have heard of Davy Crockett: His rifle โ€œOld Betsyโ€, the motto โ€œBe sure youโ€™re right, then GO AHEADโ€, and the coonskin cap. Walt Disneyโ€™s films on the life of Crockett were gigantically popular in the 1950s; the fight at the Alamo was the subject of a successful John Wayne-Richard Widmark film.

Today, as he was even in his lifetime, Crockett is a legend. โ€œI can fight harder, shoot straighter, run faster, jump higher, squat lower, dive deeper, stay under longer, and come up drier than any man in these partsโ€ (so one folk-teller puts the words in his mouth). A childrenโ€™s book notes of Crockett with a chuckle, โ€œSome folks said that he salted his bear steaks with hailstones, peppered them with buckshot, and fried them with streaks of lightning.โ€ Davy Crockett is one of those glamorous names that stand out in the history books with the likes of Buffalo Bill, Daniel Boone, and Wyatt Earp. They are heroes more for their gunplay and buckskins; but what we usually forget is that Crockett was also a respected member of Congress.

Adventures in Tennessee

Born in 1786, David Crockett had an adventurous life in the Tennessee Territory. An uncle gave six-year-old Davy hunting lessons, teaching him the skills of a good woodsman. Davy caught on quickly. His father allotted him one precious bullet per day until, at the age of nine, Davy was a crack shot, providing meat for his family. For a while, he worked with his older brothers at his familyโ€™s flour mill, then took various odd jobs and farmed. When twenty-seven, he was fighting Indians in the Creek War. He was also a scout for General Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812.

Eight years later, he served for nine years in the U.S. Congress. It is a mystery how such an independent, energetic backwoodsman, who was more at home in the woods than in any building, could submit himself to a life of politics. He was the first backwoodsman to take a seat in congress. Even more astonishing is the fact that Crockettโ€™s schooling had totaled only 100 days. โ€œI was a great admirer of his character,โ€ an acquaintance in Congress remarked.

โ€œI wish I may be shotโ€

Crockettโ€™s tenure as Congressman is an interesting one. Once, when a fire broke out in Washington, D.C., Congress quickly voted $20,000 to assist those whose homes had been destroyed. โ€œThe weather was cold,โ€ Crockett said later, โ€œand when I saw so many women and children suffering, I felt that something ought to be done for them.โ€ However, one of his constituents, Mr. Bunce, was unhappy with Crockett for volunteering the taxpayerโ€™s money to do good deeds. โ€œI voted for you the last time you were elected,โ€ Mr. Bunce stated. โ€œI shall not vote for you again.โ€ He said it was not the amount of money he was complaining of; it was the principle: Crockett had violated the Constitution. For where does it say Congress can spend other peopleโ€™s money for charity? Bunce reminded Crockett that he could use his own money, but no one elseโ€™s. Before the two parted, Crockett declared, โ€œIf I ever vote for another unconstitutional law I wish I may be shot.โ€

In Congress, Crockett proved anti-Jacksonian. He claimed President Jackson had violated both the laws and the Constitution. According to Crockett, Jackson demonstrated โ€œthe act of forsaking principle to follow party. . . . I cannot nor will not forsake principle to follow after any party.โ€ In a letter to a friend, Crockett explained the attitude of the country had become โ€œJackson done it, it is right.โ€ He boldly warned that if Jacksonโ€™s protรฉgรฉ, Martin Van Buren, won the next presidential election, โ€œI will never live under his kingdom. Before I will submit to his government I will go to the wilds of Texas.โ€

The Wilds of Texas

Opposition from Jacksonโ€™s party caused Crockett to lose the congressional race of 1835. Crockett soon joined the American forces fighting for independence in Texas. When the Mexican general Santa Anna marched with over 6,000 soldiers on San Antonio, demanding the town be surrendered, the hardy Texans and volunteers (including Crockett) refused. In the old Spanish mission, the Alamo, they made a last stand defending the town. For thirteen days the conflict thundered. Eventually, the Mexicans killed all but five of the 189 defenders, soaked the bodies of the dead in oil, and set them afire outside the mission. Davy Crockett, slaughtered along with the others, was forty-nine years old.

The โ€œcoonskin politicianโ€ died fighting for something he understood and dearly lovedโ€”independence. Never before in his short life had he ever been surer that he was right.

Bibliography:

Brinkley, Douglas. History of the United States. Viking Press, 1998.

Folsom, Franklin. Men Who Won the West. Printed in the USA, 1962

โ€œThe Life of Colonel David Crockettโ€, excerpt from Kirk, Russell, Economics: Work and Prosperity (in Christian Perspective), third ed. A Beka Book, 2017

Santrey, Laurence. Davy Crockett: Young Pioneer. Troll Associated: New Jersey, 1983.

Shapiro, Irwin. โ€œDavy Crockett, the Yaller Blossom Oโ€™ the Forestโ€, excerpt from Pecos Bill and Other Tales. Random House, 1958.

[TAGS: David Crockett, the Alamo, Congress, Andrew Jackson, pioneers]

Natalie Morris
Natalie Morris
Natalie Morris began her TTC column in 2021, recently publishing her 50th post. She enjoys writing about issues that affect average Americans (such as herself), as well as U.S. history and culture. She firmly believes that a day in which no writing is done is a day that is wasted.

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