Davy Crockett

2008-03-09T12:53:45Z

FinleyFamilyMember: correction - Polly Findlay to proper spelling of last name and full name - Mary (Polly) Finley

[[image:deathofcrockett.jpeg|300px|thumb|Death of Crockket, by W.H. Drake, 1895.]]
'''Davy Crockett''' (1786-1836) was an [[American]] frontiersman who is best known for his death at the [[Alamo]].

Crockett was born in a cabin in what is now [[Tennessee]]. <ref>[http://www.americanwest.com/pages/davycroc.htm American West - Davy Crockett]</ref> He moved to [[Virginia]] when growing up, but returned home around age 19, and married Mary (Polly) Finley soon after. After a stint in the military, in which he fought in the [[Creek War]], <ref>[http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/projects/price/acrocket.htm David Crockett]</ref> Crockett served in the Tennessee State Legislature for a couple of terms beginning in 1821, and later in the [[United States Congress]]. Originally a [[Democrat]], Crockett ended up switching to the [[Whig Party]].

After being defeated for re-election to Congress, Crockett went to Texas, where he was killed attempting to defend the Alamo. Before leaving, Crockett is reputed to have said, "You can to to Hell. I'm going to Texas." <ref>After losing his campaign for a fourth term, Crockett gave up on politics and uttered the now famous statement, "You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas." [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/alamo/peopleevents/p_crockett.html] </ref>

Crockett was a vigorous self-promoter, and nominal author of a number of books (probably ghostwritten) that helped to make him a legend in his own time.

In 1954, the Crockett legend, which had largely faded outside of Texas, was revived by Walt Disney. The ''Disneyland'' television series presented the first of an unassuming, low-budget adventure series: "Davy Crockett: Indian Fighter." "Davy Crockett Goes to Congress" and "Davy Crockett at the Alamo" followed. Davy Crockett was played by an actor named Fess Parker, little-known then, and, for the most part—apart from the Crockett series—since. To everyone's surprise, including Disney's, the show was a monumental hit. The bland-but-catchy theme song became a hit in its own right. Raccoon caps, popular with grade-school boys as "[[Daniel Boone]] caps," experienced a resurgence in popularity and became known then (and to this day) as "[[Davy Crockett]] caps."<ref>[http://www.fiftiesweb.com/tv/davy-crockett.htm Davy Crockett], Fifties Web</ref>

==Quotes==
* While in Congress: "We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money." <ref>[http://www.nhccs.org/crocket.html Not Yours to Give]</ref>

==Notes and references==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/projects/price/crockett.htm Bear Hunting in Tennessee], an extract from ''A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett'' (1834)
*[http://theadvocates.org/library/christian-crockett.html David Crockett, Charity, and Congress]

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[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:Americans]]

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Davy Crockett