Born in 1786 in Greene County, Tennessee, David (Davy) Crockett was a pioneer and politician. Crockett spent his youth in the backwoods of America where many of the stories of his manliness were born. While serving with General Andrew Jackson in 1813 in the campaign against the Creek Indians, Crockett developed an admiration for Jackson that translated into his subsequent interest to follow Jackson into politics. Between 1821 and 1825, he served as a member of the Tennessee state legislature. After his stent in the state legislature, he became a U.S. Congressman in 1827, where he stayed until he was defeated for reelection in 1835. He then moved to Texas. While he is not best known for his political career, he is best known for being an expert frontiersman, and for his heroic last stand during the Battle of the Alamo between the Texians and the Mexicans in 1836. Crockett’s actions at the Alamo is what has etched his name in history and kept the legends of his heroic exploits alive for nearly 200 years.1
During his time as a Congressman, he kept to his roots and used them to gain votes. Instead of dressing as a politician, he appealed to those that grew up in the backwoods of Tennessee, by wearing buckskin shirts and carrying a twist of tobacco in one pocket and a flask in the other. This factored into his fourteen years that he spend in government, as well as the time that he spent with Andrew Jackson.2 He was able to appeal to his fellow backwoodsmen as well as to those of the higher society, which were skills he had also learned from his time with Jackson.
He was already a legend among many of those he met, especially the stories that spread from his youth in Tennessee to his part in the Creek Indian campaign. For many, he was the equivalent of a movie star; when he and close to a dozen other men rode into San Antonio de Bexar in 1836, all eyes fell on him and his Tennessee Mounted Volunteers, known as Crockett’s Band. While declining all attempts to be given formal command, he proclaimed that he would hold the rank of a private during his short time in Texas.3
At dawn on March 6, 1836, after thirteen days of siege, the Mexican Army stormed the gates of the Alamo. Much mystery still surrounds the exact circumstances of Crockett’s death, whether he died at the gates, shot in the chaos of battle, or, the more popular theory, that he was captured and executed by the Mexican Army at the end of battle, there is one thing that many can agree on: David Crockett will forever be immortalized in Texas as the hero of the Alamo, and in his home state of Tennessee, not only for his actions at the Alamo, but also for his political career for the State of Tennessee.
- Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, January 2016, s.v. “Crockett, Davy.” ↵
- Michael Willis, “David Crockett: The Lion of the West,” Kirkus Reviews Vol. 79, (May 2011): 320. ↵
- Bob Palmquist, “A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee,” Wild West Vol.29, (February 2017): 4. ↵
30 comments
Ryann Cervantes
Growing up Texan I was taught about Davy Crocket, Sam Houston, James Bowie, and the Alamo. So already I knew Davy Crocket as one of the immortalized men who fought at the Alamo but I really enjoyed reading about his life as a politician and how he appealed to his more backwoods voters and hometown people. While he didn’t exactly live in Texas he will always be a part of it’s history.
Carlos Aparicio
I like this article because it gets right to the point with Davy Crockett and what his key points were in his lifetime. Growing up, I knew Crockett was a Texas hero for his service at the Alamo. I never knew he was involved in Politics and that he was from Tennessee. I learned a lot reading from this article and I can tell enough research was put in. The only thing I wish that everyone knew about Crockett was how his death occurred. Overall, very informative article.
Abigale Carney
Interesting article! Davy Crockett is very well known throughout Texas, and is greatly appreciated. I had always thought Crockett was from Texas, not Tennessee which was surprising to me. After visiting the Alamo, it was crazy to think that this small beat up building held so much Texas history. Davy Crockett had a huge role in the battle of the Alamo, and he will always remain as one of Texas’ greatest heros.
Marco Picardo
A nice little article that summarized most of Davy Crockett’s life. Living in Texas all of us have heard of the legend of Davy Crockett. The one thing that I always loved about Crockett was that he was a common man. When he served in the political sphere rather than being flashy, he chose to dress and relate with the commoners of the backwoods in Tennessee. Even when he got to the Alamo there were calls for him to assume command, but he chose to assume the rank of private. He was a simple man with simple means, and now a hero of Texas.
Amber Aragon Alvarado
Although the article was very short, it was interesting learning about the early stage of his life. His time being a politician is unique to others at that time because he was loose upon by many as society considered him a “movie star”. In addition, I find it amazing that he came all the way to San Antonio from Tennessee to support a battle against the Mexican Army. The Alamo is a representation of his heroic acts during the battle. Although there are different theories about his death, David Crockett will always demonstrate a fighter and warrior amongst that time. I wish to have read more about him, but overall it was informative.
Justin Garcia
This article is interesting because though brief it touches on a part of David Crockett’s life that isn’t very well know. That being his time in the political landscape. I think this is important to know because many associate Crockett with being the last standing defender of the Alamo. His time being a politician is unique to others at the time because rather then trying to appeal to the masses he keep true to his roots. A lesson I believe many upcoming politicians should learn because your roots define a large part of someones being and shouldn’t be ignored. Overall this is a great article keep up the great work.
Nelson Smithwick
Davy Crockett is practically a folk hero here in Texas, so it was very interesting to learn a bit about him outside of what he had taken part in at the battle of the Alamo. For instance I had never known that Davy Crockett was from Tennessee, I had always thought someone so integral to Texan history must have been from Texas.
Aaron Jaramillo
This is a great article. Looking at your sources you only had three but your article was very interesting. I always thought he was from the great state of Texas but turns out he is from Tennessee, that is cool to learn. You hit all the high points throughout his life. Overall, this is a great article, Good job Johnanthony.
Sergio Cervantes
A fantastic read! I liked that you focused on his early life including important aspects such as how he was influenced by Andrew Jackson and his part in the Creek campaign. The name is too familiar to me being that I am Texan so it was nice to see an article written about this man’s life. I find it funny how he used to dress in a way in which he could identify with both social classes. It must have been motivating for the defenders of the Alamo to have this “movie star” amongst them.
Cameron Mays
This article was very informing and interesting, however, I felt the very first sentence introducing the article did not firmly grasp my attention. The idea here is to draw the reader in and give them an appeal to read the rest of the article. After reading your first line, the only reason I continued to read was to write this comment at the end. If someone without this want is reading, you might lose them! A great article has a great hook! However, the rest of the article was pretty good. I did enjoy reading it and I felt like I learned a great deal!