Today in US History, and perhaps I should add, Texas history, is the day in 1835 that David Crockett gave his famous "...you may all go to Hell, and I am going to Texas" farewell speech. By the way, before I go further I would like to add, for Mr. Crockett, that he hated being called "Davy." I have read this in more than one biography, so in respect to Mr. Crockett I will not call him "Davy" in this post.
My research into David Crockett's life and character has shown me that Crockett truly embodied all the stereotypical characteristics, even those of Hollywood, that you and I today have come to expect of all "frontiersmen." He really did occasionally wear a coonskin cap, although he seemed to prefer to wear more traditional crowned hats at least as often, if not more. He actually did hunt for food when he was very young. Actually, most frontier children, especially boys, learned to hunt at a young age, because their fathers were away from the house either fighting, farming, or running businesses. Crockett actually wore clothes with fringes on the sleeves and legs, but the fringes were not decorations. Actually, they represented high technology for that day. The Indians with whom these frontiersmen had contact wore fringes for an actual purpose - the fringes acted as collection points for water, allowing the water, from rain or from crossing creeks and rivers, to drain off their clothing more quickly. And Crockett was not "educated." His education came from his life experiences and from his own self-education.
Although David Crockett was indeed a frontiersman, he was making inroads into politics by his early twenties. He was an early county commissioner in North Carolina, and held various local public offices for the next few years. He was constantly working as well, which left little time for formal education. Crockett did not let his lack of education hold him back. Instead, he rather shrewdly capitalized on his "country backwardness" by using his life-experiences and colorful anecdotes to represent his constituents and lull his opponents.
One of the most important aspects of being a frontiersman, one which I did not list above, was "being your own man." Frontiersmen were fiercely independent, both in their actions and in their thinking. David Crockett was no exception. He believed in educating himself, both in general knowledge, and about local and national political issues. Once educated, Crockett believed, a person should decide how he or she stood on an issue, then STAND. Stand, no matter what other people said. David Crockett said, "Be sure you are right, then go ahead."
It was Crockett's fierce independence and his desire to be his own man that eventually led to his ouster from Congress. In 1835 Crockett stood against President Andrew Jackson on his treatment of the Indians. That was political suicide, and all of Crockett's colleagues told him so. As one of his biographers put it, "Crockett was elected as a 'Jacksonian' but quickly became an 'Anti - Jacksonian' and lost the election of 1835." No one in his right political mind would defy Jackson, but Crockett further nailed shut his coffin by stating on the House floor that "President Jackson is a worse tyrant than...Napoleon." And so it was that in January, 1836 David Crockett uttered probably his most famous quote, "...all of you may go to Hell, and I am going to Texas."
Shortly afterward David Crockett set out for Texas. On the way he and his three companions joined with a company of men from Louisiana who were headed to a crumbling, difficult to defend fort/mission called "The Alamo." It may be that Crockett knew he was riding into Destiny. He gave away his Mason apron, something a practicing Mason would never do. Something about the Texas Revolution appealed to him, yet something else told him that he was heading into his last fight.
David Crockett is one of my favorite men of US History, and one of my favorite quotes of his is "You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas." The defenders of the Alamo were doomed, and Crockett and the men with him did not change the final outcome. But the few survivors of that famous battle all agreed that David Crockett lifted the spirit of those doomed men, both with his singing and with his encouraging words. As Death closed on those men during the final minutes before the last assault, David Crockett's motto, "Be sure you're right, then go ahead" must have gone through their minds. They, along with Crockett, went ahead into the final hopeless fight, and into perhaps the most famous battle of modern times. Who knows, perhaps Crockett's presence, his wit, his personality helped the men fulfill all that would be required of them in their finest hour.
You may all go to Hell, I am going to Texas
God Bless America
My research into David Crockett's life and character has shown me that Crockett truly embodied all the stereotypical characteristics, even those of Hollywood, that you and I today have come to expect of all "frontiersmen." He really did occasionally wear a coonskin cap, although he seemed to prefer to wear more traditional crowned hats at least as often, if not more. He actually did hunt for food when he was very young. Actually, most frontier children, especially boys, learned to hunt at a young age, because their fathers were away from the house either fighting, farming, or running businesses. Crockett actually wore clothes with fringes on the sleeves and legs, but the fringes were not decorations. Actually, they represented high technology for that day. The Indians with whom these frontiersmen had contact wore fringes for an actual purpose - the fringes acted as collection points for water, allowing the water, from rain or from crossing creeks and rivers, to drain off their clothing more quickly. And Crockett was not "educated." His education came from his life experiences and from his own self-education.
Although David Crockett was indeed a frontiersman, he was making inroads into politics by his early twenties. He was an early county commissioner in North Carolina, and held various local public offices for the next few years. He was constantly working as well, which left little time for formal education. Crockett did not let his lack of education hold him back. Instead, he rather shrewdly capitalized on his "country backwardness" by using his life-experiences and colorful anecdotes to represent his constituents and lull his opponents.
One of the most important aspects of being a frontiersman, one which I did not list above, was "being your own man." Frontiersmen were fiercely independent, both in their actions and in their thinking. David Crockett was no exception. He believed in educating himself, both in general knowledge, and about local and national political issues. Once educated, Crockett believed, a person should decide how he or she stood on an issue, then STAND. Stand, no matter what other people said. David Crockett said, "Be sure you are right, then go ahead."
It was Crockett's fierce independence and his desire to be his own man that eventually led to his ouster from Congress. In 1835 Crockett stood against President Andrew Jackson on his treatment of the Indians. That was political suicide, and all of Crockett's colleagues told him so. As one of his biographers put it, "Crockett was elected as a 'Jacksonian' but quickly became an 'Anti - Jacksonian' and lost the election of 1835." No one in his right political mind would defy Jackson, but Crockett further nailed shut his coffin by stating on the House floor that "President Jackson is a worse tyrant than...Napoleon." And so it was that in January, 1836 David Crockett uttered probably his most famous quote, "...all of you may go to Hell, and I am going to Texas."
Shortly afterward David Crockett set out for Texas. On the way he and his three companions joined with a company of men from Louisiana who were headed to a crumbling, difficult to defend fort/mission called "The Alamo." It may be that Crockett knew he was riding into Destiny. He gave away his Mason apron, something a practicing Mason would never do. Something about the Texas Revolution appealed to him, yet something else told him that he was heading into his last fight.
David Crockett is one of my favorite men of US History, and one of my favorite quotes of his is "You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas." The defenders of the Alamo were doomed, and Crockett and the men with him did not change the final outcome. But the few survivors of that famous battle all agreed that David Crockett lifted the spirit of those doomed men, both with his singing and with his encouraging words. As Death closed on those men during the final minutes before the last assault, David Crockett's motto, "Be sure you're right, then go ahead" must have gone through their minds. They, along with Crockett, went ahead into the final hopeless fight, and into perhaps the most famous battle of modern times. Who knows, perhaps Crockett's presence, his wit, his personality helped the men fulfill all that would be required of them in their finest hour.
You may all go to Hell, I am going to Texas
God Bless America
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