Heroes # 1 Davey Crockett

We all need heroes. The cult of the anti-hero has run its course - it's time to recognize real heroes. I'll be putting a few of mine here and explaining why I feel that way about them.

David Crockett is probably one of the most misunderstood Americans. Yes he was a frontiersman. Yes he was a Bear hunter. He is reported to have killed 105 in one season. Yes he died at the Alamo - but as the man says -- here's the rest of the story.


Crockett served three terms in Congress. He was elected as a friend of Andrew Jackson and was acclaimed for his homespun humor and ability to stretch the truth a bit. His autobiography received enough covereage that he was actually being seriously considered as presidential timber. However he made a serious political mistake.

Andrew Jackson was supporting the 'Indian Removal Act. This act forced the southeast Indians to relocate to the west so that their lands could be used by friends of the president. The resulting effort has become known as the 'Trail of Tears' and the Cherokee were brutally uprooted and forced to settle in 'Indian Territory'. Crockett opposed this measure and campaigned loudly and strongly against it. This protest doomed his political career.


One other Idea that Crockett had - He saw that the immigrant farmers were 'squatting' on land and scratching out a living from this land. Frequently they were dispossed once the land had started producing. Crockett came up with the idea of letting them have title to government land once they had made it viable. While Crockett never saw this come to fruition, his son John Wesley Crockett, who had taken his fathers seat in congress, was one of the sponsers of 'The Homestead Act'.


Crockett was loud, ambitious and prone to stretching the truth. However he really did say 'Be Sure that you're right, then go ahead'

When his unpopular political stands proved to be his undoing he also said:

"They can go to hell. I'm going to Texas"