Col. Davy Crockett; Born August 17, 1786; Died At The Alamo, March 6, 1836

One day in the House of Representatives, a bill was taken up appropriating
money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several
beautiful speeches had been made in its support. The Speaker was just about
to put the question when Crockett arose:

"Mr. Speaker --- I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and
as much sympathy for the suffering of the living, if suffering there be, as
any man in this house, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or
our sympathy for a part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to
the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that
Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every
member upon this floor knows it. 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 to appropriate a dollar of the public money. Some
eloquent appeals have been made to us upon the ground that it is a debt due
the deceased. Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long after the close of the
war; he was in office to the day of his death, and I have never heard that
the government was in arrears to him."

"Every man in this House knows it is not a debt. We cannot, without the
grossest corruption, appropriate this money as the payment of a debt. We
have not the semblance of authority to appropriate it as a charity. Mr.
Speaker, I have said we have the right to give as much money of our own as
we please. I am the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for this bill,
but I will give one week's pay to the object, and, if every member of
Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks."

He took his seat. Nobody replied. The bill was put upon its passage, and,
instead of passing unanimously, as was generally supposed, and as, no doubt
it would but for that speech, it received but few votes and of course, was
lost.

Later when asked by a friend why he had opposed the appropriation, Crockett
gave this explanation:

"Several years ago I was one evening standing on the steps of the Capitol
with some other members of Congress when our attention was attracted by a
great light over in Georgetown. It was evidently a large fire. We jumped
into a hack and drove over as fast we could. In spite of all that could be
done, many houses were burned and many families made houseless, and besides,
some of them had lost all but the clothes they had on. The weather was very
cold, and when I saw so many women and children suffering, I felt that
something ought to be done for them. The next morning a bill was introduced
appropriating $20,000 for their relief. We put aside all other business and
rushed it through as soon as it could be done.

The next summer, when it began to be time to think about the election, I
concluded I would take a scout around among the boys of my district. I had
no opposition there, but, as the election was some time off, I did not know
what might turn up. When riding one day in part of my district in which I
was more of a stranger than any other, I saw a man in a field plowing and
coming toward the road. I gauged my gait so that I should meet as he came to
the fence. As he came up, I spoke to the man. He replied politely, but as I
thought, rather coldly.

I began, 'Well, friend, I am one of those unfortunate beings called
candidates, and-'

'Yes, I know you; you are Colonel Crockett, I have seen you once before and
voted for you the last time you were elected. I suppose you are out
electioneering right now, but you had better not waste your time or mine. I
shall not vote for you again.'

This was a sockdolager, I begged him to tell me what was the matter.

'Well, Colonel, it is hardly worth while to waste time or words upon it. I
do not see how it can be mended, but you gave a vote last winter which shows
that either you have not capacity to understand the Constitution, or that
you are wanting in the honesty and firmness to be guided by it. In either
case you are not the man to represent me. But I beg your pardon for
expressing it in that way. I did not intend to avail myself of the privilege
of the constituent to speak plainly to a candidate for the purpose of
insulting or wounding you.

I intend by it only to say that your understanding of the Constitution is
very different from mine; and I will say to you what, but for my rudeness, I
should not have said that I believe you to be honest. But an understanding
of the Constitution different from mine I cannot overlook because the
Constitution, to be worth anything, must be held sacred and rigidly observed
in all its provisions. The man who wields power and misinterprets it, is the
more dangerous the more honest he is.'

'I admit the truth of all you say, but there must be some mistake about it,
for I do not remember that I gave any vote last winter upon any
constitutional questions.'

'No, Colonel, there is no mistake. Though I live here in the backwoods and
seldom go from home, I take the papers from Washington and read very
carefully all the proceedings in Congress. My papers say that last winter
you voted for a bill to appropriate $20,000 to some sufferers by a fire in
Georgetown. Is that true?'

'Well, my friend, I may as well own up. You have got me there. But certainly
nobody will complain that a great and rich country like ours should give the
insignificant amount of $20,000 to relive its suffering women and children,
particularly with a full and overflowing Treasury, and I am sure, if you had
been there, you would have done just as I did.'

'It is not the amount, Colonel, that I complain of, it is the principle. In
the first place, the government ought to have in the Treasury no more than
enough for its legitimate purposes. But that has nothing to do with the
question. The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the
most dangerous power that can be intrusted to man, particularly under our
system of collecting revenue by a tariff, which reaches every man in the
country, no matter how poor he may be and the poorer he is, the more he pays
in proportion to his means.

What is worse, it presses upon him without his knowledge where the weight
centers, for there is not a man in the United States who can ever guess how
much he pays to the government. So you see, that while you are contributing
to relieve one, you are drawing it from thousands who are even worse off
than he. If you had the right to give anything, the amount was simply a
matter of discretion with you, and you had as much right to give $20,000,000
as $20,000.

If you had the right to give to one, you have the right to give to all and
as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount, you
are at liberty to give to any and everything which you may believe, or
profess to believe, is a charity, and to any amount you may think proper.
You will very easily perceive what a wide door this would open for fraud and
corruption and favoritism on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the
other. No, Colonel, Congress has no right to give charity.

Individual members may give as much of their own money as they please, but
they have no right to touch a dollar of the public money for that purpose.
If twice as many houses had been burned in this country as in Georgetown,
neither you nor any other member of Congress would have thought to
appropriating a dollar for our relief. There are about two hundred and forty
members of Congress. If they had shown their sympathy for the sufferers by
contributing each one week's pay, it would have made over $13,000. There are
plenty of men in and around Washington who could have given $20,000 without
depriving themselves of even a luxury of life.

The Congressmen chose to keep their own money, which, if reports to be true,
some of them spend not very credibly; and the people about Washington, no
doubt, applauded you for relieving them from the necessity of giving by
giving what was not yours to give. The people have delegated to Congress, by
the Constitution, the power to do certain things. To do these, it is
authorized to collect and pay moneys, and for nothing else. Everything
beyond this is usurpation and a violation of the Constitution.

So you see, Colonel, you have violated the Constitution in what I consider a
vital point. It is a precedent fraught with danger for the country, for when
Congress once begins to stretch its power beyond the limits of the
Constitution, there is no limit to it and no security for the people. I have
no doubt you acted honestly, but that does not make it any better, except as
far as you are personally concerned and you see that I cannot vote for you.'

'I tell you I felt streaked. I saw if I should have opposition, and this man
should go talking, he would set others to talking and in that district I was
a gone fawn-skin. I could not answer him and the fact is, I was so fully
convinced that he was right, I did not want to. But I must satisfy him and I
said to him:

Well, my friend, you hit the nail upon the head when you said I had not
sense enough to understand the Constitution. I intended to be guided by it
and thought I had studied it fully. I have head many speeches in Congress
about the powers of Congress, but what you have said here at your plow has
got more hard, sound sense in it than all the fine speeches I ever heard. If
I had ever taken the view of it that you have, I would have put my head into
the fire before I would have given that vote; and if you will forgive me and
vote for me again, if I ever vote for another unconstitutional law, I wish I
may be shot.'

He haughtingly replied: 'Yes, Colonel, you have sworn to that once before,
but I will trust you again upon one condition. You say that you are
convinced that your vote was wrong. Your acknowledgment of it will do more
good than beating you for it. If, as you go around the district, you will
tell people about this vote and that you are satisfied it was wrong, I will
not only vote for you, but will do what I can to keep down opposition, and
perhaps, I may exert some little influence in that way.'

'If I don't, I said, I wish I may be shot, and to convince you that I am in
earnest in what I say, I will come back this way in a week or ten days, and
if you will get up a gathering of the people, I will make a speech to them.
Get up a barbeque and I will pay for it.'

No, Colonel, we are not rich people in this section, but we have plenty of
provisions to contribute for a barbeque and some to spare for those who have
none. The push of crops will be over in a few days and we can afford a day
for a barbeque. This is Thursday. I will see to getting up on Saturday week.
Come to my house on Friday and we will go together and I promise you a very
respectable crowd to see and hear you.'

'Well, I will be there. But one thing more before I say good-bye. I must
know your name.'

'My name is Bunce.'

'Not Horatio Bunce?'

'Yes.'

'Well, Mr. Bunce, I never saw you before though you say you have seen me,
but I know you very well. I am glad I have met you and very proud that I may
hope to have you for my friend.'

It was one of the luckiest hits of my life that I met him. He mingled but
little with the public, but was widely known for his remarkable intelligence
and incorruptible integrity and for a heart brimful and running over with
kindness and benevolence, which showed themselves not only in words but in
acts. He was the oracle of the whole country around him, and his fame had
extended far beyond the circle of his immediate acquaintance. Though I had
never met him before, I had heard much of him, and but for this meeting it
is very likely I should have had opposition, and have been beaten. One thing
is very certain, no man could now stand up in that district under such a
vote.

At the appointed time I was at his house, having told our conversation to
every crowd I had met, and to every man I stayed all night with, and I found
that it gave the people an interest and a confidence in me stronger than I
had ever seen manifested before. Though I was considerably fatigued when I
reached his house, and under ordinary circumstances, should have gone early
to bed, I kept up until midnight talking about the principles and affairs of
government, and got more real, true knowledge of them than I had got all my
life before.

I have known and seen much of him since, for I respect him - no, that is not
the world - I reverence and love him more than any living man, and I go to
see him two or three times every year; and I will tell you, sir, if every
one who professes to be a Christian lived and acted and enjoyed as he does,
the religion of Christ would take the world by storm.

But, to return to my story. The next morning I went to the barbeque and to
my surprise, found about a thousand men there. I met a good many whom I had
not known before, and they and my friend introduced me around until I had
got pretty well acquainted - at least, they all knew me. In due time notice
was given that I would speak to them. They gathered up around a stand that
had been erected. I opened by speech by saying:

Fellow-citizens - I present myself before you today feeling like a new man.
My eyes have lately been opened to truths which ignorance or prejudice, or
both, had heretofore hidden from my view. I feel that I can today offer you
the ability to render you more valuable service than I have ever been able
to render before. I am here today more for the purpose of acknowledging my
error than to see your votes. That I should make this acknowledgment is due
to myself as well as to you. Whether you will vote for me is a matter for
your consideration only.

I went on to tell them about the fire and my vote for the appropriation and
then told them why I was satisfied it was wrong. I closed by saying:

And now, fellow citizens, it remains only for me to tell you that most of
the speech you have listened to with so much interest was simply a
repetition of the arguments by which your neighbor, Mr. Bunce, convinced me
of my error. It is the best speech I ever made in my life, but he is
entitled to the credit for it. And now I hope he is satisfied with his
convert and that he will get up here and tell you so. He came upon the stand
and said:

'Fellow citizens, it affords me great pleasure to comply with the request of
Colonel Crockett. I have always considered him a thoroughly honest man, and
I am satisfied that he will faithfully perform all that he has promised to
you today.'

He went down, and there went up from that crowd such a shout for Davy
Crockett as his name never called forth before. I am not much given to
tears, but I was taken with a choking then and felt some big drops rolling
down my cheeks. And I tell you now that the remembrance of those few words
spoken by such a man, and the honest, hearty shout they produced, is worth
more to me than all the reputation I have ever made, or ever shall make, as
a member of Congress."

"Now, sir," concluded Crockett, "you know why I made that speech yesterday."