Davy Crockett
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Davy Crockett was born in Tennessee on Aug. 17, 1786. He attended
school briefly, leaving to wander as far as Baltimore at 13 years of age. He later returned to work off some of
his father's debts, and then married Polly Finley. In the War of 1812 he served as a scout under Andrew Jackson.
When Polly died in 1815, he remarried and moved to Lawrence County, where he was elected to the State Legislature
in 1821. He then moved to the region of Reelfoot Lake where he was again elected to the Legislature in 1823. He
was then elected in 1826 to Congress, and served in the House of Representatives from 1827-1831 then again from
1833-1835.
As a Congressman, Davy worked hard to guarantee his people the right to keep land on which they had settled before the area was opened by the Federal Government to homesteaders. Opposed by the Jackson supporters in the Tennessee congressional delegation, Davy broke off with the president. He attacked Jackson vigorously in his published autobiography, which is perhaps the most outstanding published work of frontier humor, it's full of homespun witticisms and tall tales.
The Whig Party leaders, capitalized on Davy's popularity, persuading him that he had a great political future. They then sent him all over the country to counteract Jackson's appeal among the rural people and published some books under Davy's name that were harshly critical of Jackson's policies.
Davy was defeated in the Tennessee congressional race in 1834, then left Tennessee to join the movement for independence in Texas. He arrived at the Alamo in February of 1836, and was killed there in the final Mexican assault.
Davy Crockett's colorful personality and heroic death quickly made him a legend, one that has persisted to this day. He was one of the State's great fighters and dedicated his life to the frontier ideals of freedom, life, & liberty.
©Brenda Neely 2006