Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published Aug. 18, 2004

King of the wild frontier and a shrewd politician to boot

On a mountain top somewhere in eastern Tennessee, a true state hero was born on Aug. 17, 1786. He of the coonskin hat, Davy Crockett, learned early what hard work was and his only formal education was given by a neighbor who tutored him for 100 days.

The young backwoodsman kept moving west and was on the scene when the Creek War of 1813-15 was raging. During that period with the Tennessee militia led by Commander Andrew Jackson, he made many friends and became interested in politics.

Crockett was elected to the Tennessee legislature in 1821 and one of his colleagues always referred to him as the "gentleman from the cane" because it was said that during the winter months Davy hunted bear and coons in the dense canebreaks of western Tennessee.

With two terms served at the state level he ran for the U.S. Congress and won as a Democrat from 1827-31. The coonskin politician broke with Jackson's Democratic ticket and returned to run as a Whig. Stiff opposition by the Jackson party helped defeat him in the 1835 election. After that Crockett bid farewell to the Hog and Hominy state of Tennessee and headed for Texas where he met his destiny at the Alamo.

In his 50 years of life Davy Crockett left a mixed legacy. He was a shrewd politician and delighted in letting folks think he was an eccentric "bar huntin', Indian fightin' frontiersman." Although his speeches were delivered in fairly conventional English, many of his comical legends were told in a series of almanacs published from 1835-56.

One story told of Davy's dog treeing a coon but he didn't shoot it. He just looked up at that coon and grinned and that grin was so powerful the coon just went crazy and fell over dead.

In 1834 Crockett, with co-author Thomas Chilton, a congressman from Kentucky, wrote Davy's autobiography. That work is credited with helping to introduce a new style of realistic writing into American literature.

The serious side of Crockett is shown in a story he often told. He and some of his fellow congressmen visited the scene of a bad fire in Washington, DC and were distressed to see so many women and children suffering. Next day they introduced a bill appropriating $20,000 for the relief of the victims.

Some months later Crockett was running for reelection and stopped to introduce himself to a farmer working in his field. The man told him he knew him and had voted for him but he would not do so again. Crockett said, "That was a sockdolager and I begged him to tell me why."

The man explained he did not agree with the $20,000 appropriation because it misinterpreted the Constitution. He went on, "The power of collecting and disbursing money at the pleasure of Congress is in violation of the limitations the Constitution put on what Congress could properly do. It is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to men."

Crockett said of that meeting, "It was one of the luckiest days of my life." That he took the words to heart was shown when he voted against an appropriation for the widow of a distinguished naval officer. He told the legislators of the farmer's words and said he agreed that Congress had no right to take money from some to give to others, no matter how worthy.

Then he made an offer, "We have the right to give as much money of our own as we please. I am the poorest man on the floor. I cannot vote for the bill but I will give one week's pay and if every member of Congress will do the same it will amount to more than the bill asks." The bill did not pass but whether other members joined Crockett we do not know.

Sometimes called the Texas hero from Tennessee, Crockett's motto was, "Be always sure you are right, then go ahead." He must have still believed that when he fell at the Alamo and his 216th birthday was remembered there. At Lawrenceburg, TN the birthday was celebrated at the David Crockett State Park.

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Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.