David Crockett Defends Native Americans

David Crockett’s opposition to President Andrew Jackson’s 1830 Indian Removal Bill was one of the highpoints in his long, often contentious political career.  As a Tennessean, Crockett did not make things easy for himself by repeatedly bucking Jackson, the state’s most celebrated hero and popular politician.  Yet Crockett managed to win three terms in Congress, while losing two close elections, before packing it in and telling his constituents that they might all go to Hell and he would go to Texas.  He made good on the promise and met his death at the Alamo on March 6, 1836, in Texas’s war for independence from Mexico. 

Crockett’s speech opposing Indian Removal was included in “Davy Crockett Goes to Congress”, the second episode in Walt Disney’s three-part TV mini series that aired on “Disneyland” in 1954-55.  Portrayed by Fess Parker, Crockett gives an angry, rousing speech aimed at shaming the Congress for even considering such an unjust measure.  Parker dramatically tears his copy of the bill in half before storming out of the House chamber to rousing applause.  

                                                 Fess Parker in "Davy Crockett Goes To Congress"

Of course, the speech was not quite so dramatic and was so short that it was not even included in the Register of Debates, the early 19^th century version of today’s far more authoritative Congressional Record.  This omission led Crockett scholars to conclude that he never really gave the speech and that he didn’t want his pro-removal constituency to learn that he had opposed Jackson’s bill.  But Crockett actually boasted about the speech, was very proud of his stand, and aware that, had he tried to conceal the speech, his numerous political opponents would have seen that it was widely published in his district anyway. 

The following excerpt from David Crockett in Congress: The Rise and Fall of the Poor Man’s Friend, by James R. Boylston and myself, explains Crockett’s views on Indian Removal and his speech opposing it.

“Crockett’s support for the Indians and his vote against removal have often been seen as merely part of his consistently strong anti-Jackson stand and just one more swipe at Old Hickory, which lacked real commitment. This view of Crockett’s motives stems largely from the fact that the speech he gave in the House does not appear in the Register of Debates in Congress, suggesting to some that he tried to conceal his defense of Indians from voters. However, the speech was reported in the United States’ Telegraph and published elsewhere in full, including in the Jackson Gazette in Crockett’s home district, and it was mentioned or summarized in newspapers throughout the country. It also appeared in a compilation of speeches on Indian removal.

“Crockett read the reports about his speech in the press and took exception to the way it had been paraphrased in the Telegraph. He wrote to the newspaper to correct its errors, particularly the report that he had said ‘he was opposed in conscience to the measure; and such being the case, he cared not what his constituents thought of his conduct.’ Crockett denied having said anything of the kind and insisted ‘I never hurl defiance at those whose servant I am. I said that my conscience should be my guide. . . and that I believed if my constituents were here, they would justify my vote.’¹ The published speech actually paraphrased him as saying ‘He had his constituents to settle with, he was aware; and should like to please them as well as other gentlemen; but he had also a settlement to make at the bar of his God; and what his conscience dictated to be just and right he would do, be the consequences what they might. He believed that the people who had been kind enough to give him their suffrages supposed him to be an honest man, or they would not have chosen him. If so, they could not but expect that he should act in the way he thought honest and right.’²

“Crockett knew that he could not keep his vote or such a speech secret from his constituents, and he was keenly aware that his position on the issue was unpopular with many of them. Newspapers back home criticized his vote, and he defended it openly in his letters and circulars, which were widely read by his constituents. He also boasted proudly of his vote in his autobiography, published in 1834, and insisted that it was a matter of conscience and his obligation under the trust that voters had placed in him. ‘I had been elected by a majority of three thousand five hundred and eighty-five votes,’ he wrote, ‘and I believed they were honest men, and wouldn’t want me to vote for any unjust notion. . . . I voted against this Indian bill, and my conscience yet tells me that I gave a good honest vote, and one that I believe will not make me ashamed in the day of judgment.’³

“Apparently Crockett had even stronger words in support of the Indians that were cut from his original autobiography manuscript. According to John Gadsby Chapman, who painted Crockett’s portrait in mid- 1834, ‘There were, moreover, many portions of his manuscript, cancelled by the counsel of his advisers, that gave him special vexation—chiefly such relating to inhuman massacres of Indian women and children, which if he wrote of with half the intensified bitterness of reprobation that I have heard him express towards the perpetrators of such atrocious acts, and the officials by whom they were permitted, suppression of their narrative may have been better for the credit of the nation and humanity.’ 4

“Crockett continued to defend his vote even after he was defeated in his bid for reelection in 1831. Writing to a supporter in his district, he condemned Jackson on several counts and showed no regret for his vote in opposition to Indian removal, proclaiming that ‘I also condemned the Course parsued to the Southern Indians I love to sustain the honour of my Country and I will do it while I live in or out of Congress . . . .’^5”

¹ United States’ Telegraph, May 25, 1830.

² Jackson (Tennessee) Gazette, June 26, 1830.

³ David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee, ed. and annotated by James A. Shackford and Stanley J. Folmsbee (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1973), 206.

⁴ Curtis Carroll Davis, “A Legend at Full-Length: Mr. Chapman Paints Colonel Crockett— and Tells About It,” Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 69 (1960), 169–70.

⁵ Crockett to James Davison, August 18, 1831, DRT Library at the Alamo.

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Moses Rose of the Alamo!

The 1836 Battle of the Alamo is steeped in myth, rich in history, and a source of many unsolved puzzles.  Countless written words and hours of debate have centered on the battle and its major figures, David Crockett, Jim Bowie, and commander William Travis.  

The Alamo battle quickly ascended into myth and legend.  Fictionalized and glorified images of the defenders, as well as the demonization of their Mexican adversaries, particularly General Santa Anna, have been preserved in poetry and fiction; on stage, screen and television; and in a considerable amount of music.  Nearly all of these artistic representations reflect the traditional image of the Alamo heroes as brave martyrs who went down fighting for Texas independence from Mexico.  Little negative is ever said about them, but on rare occasions some bold wag has held a more cynical or comical lens up to the Alamo myth.  Take Moses Rose for example, whose name may actually have been Louis Rose, who may or may not have been French, but who certainly fought at the Alamo and, unlike his fellow defenders, lived to tell about it. 

At some point during the siege, so the story goes, Colonel Travis gave the garrison the option of leaving the fort with honor or remaining with him to fight to the death, which was a certainty by the time he made the offer.  Legend has it that only one man, Rose, chose to bolt over the wall and attempt escape through Mexican lines.  Although the story has met with some skepticism, Rose does appear to have fought at the Alamo and managed to escape before the final battle.  Thus, no stigma of cowardice should haunt Rose’s memory (after all, Travis did give the garrison permission to leave with honor) but,  nonetheless, history has sometimes judged him to be “less-than-heroic”. 

Rose has also been commemorated in Alamo songs.  “Rose of the Alamo,” a 1946 ditty written by George Lomas and Sophie & Julie Murray and recorded by Dick Thomas with the Sante Fe Rangers, mentions Rose.  “Coward of the Alamo,” a comic/novelty song written by Don Bowman, does not actually mention Rose but, as the title suggests, focuses on a not so heroic Alamo defender.  Both Bowman and Dave Gardner recorded versions of the song in 1961.  

“Moses Rose of Texas,” penned by Stephen L. Suffent in 1995 and recorded by Carl Peterson for his CD Scotland Remembers the Alamo in 2001, is the cleverest of all Rose songs. The following excerpt from Music of the Alamo: From 19^th Century Ballads to Big-Screen Soundtracks includes the song’s wry lyrics.

“Moses Rose, the Alamo defender who, according to legend, left the mission-fortress when given the opportunity by William Travis, was acknowledged in the 1995 song: “Moses Rose of Texas.”  Written by Stephen L. Suffet and sung to the tune “Yellow Rose of Texas,” Rose gets a celebratory boost of sorts because of his survivor status:

“When gallant Colonel Travis,

Drew a line down in the sand,

Everyone stepped over,

But one solitary man.

They called him Rose the Coward,

And they called him Yellow Rose,

But it takes bravery to stand alone,

As God Almighty knows.

“He said, ‘I’m not a coward,

I just think it isn’t right,

For me to throw my life away,

In someone else’s fight.

I have no quarrel with Mexicans,

Nor with the Texans, too,’

So Moses Rose of Texas,

He bid the men adieu.

“Whenever you are up against it,

Pressure from your peers,

Or a challenge to your manhood,

Or frightened by the jeers,

Remember that discretion,

Is valor’s better part,

And let the life of Moses Rose,

Put courage in your heart.

“So shed a tear for Travis,

And Davy Crockett, too,

And cry for old Jim Bowie,

They saw the battle through.

But when you’re finished weeping,

And you’re finished with your wail,

Then give a grin for Moses Rose,

Who lived to tell the tale!

(By Stephen L. Suffet ©1995.  Used by permission)”

For more information about how the Alamo has been remembered in music, see Music of the Alamo: From 19^th Century Ballads to Big-Screen Soundtracks by William R. Chemerka and Allen J. Wiener.  The book can be purchased from Amazon.com at this link:  http://tinyurl.com/m6lhld2

Allen J. Wiener's books can be found on Amazon.com at this link:  http://tinyurl.com/po638bd