David Crockett_ The Lion of the West - Michael Wallis [92]
Without fail, Crockett always took up for the settlers; he believed they suffered at the hands of land speculators. This was duly noted in the Nashville newspapers in September 1824, when Crockett attempted to stop a proposed land practice that was damaging to the hardworking occupants of land controlled by speculators and greedy owners. This measure called for selling off large tracts of vacant state lands for cash, a move that meant Crockett’s poor constituents would be priced out of contention. He believed that he, and others like him who had the courage and fortitude to seek out and open new lands for their families, had just as many rights as, if not more rights than, outsiders who wanted to buy large acreages.
Crockett demanded that squatters be given a fair opportunity to purchase the land. He openly condemned the speculators and accused them of “pretending to be great friends to the people in saving their land” when they actually “had gone up one side of the creek and down another, like a coon, and pretended to grant the poor people great favors in securing them occupant claims—they gave them a credit of a year and promised to take cows, horses, &c., in payment. But when the year came around, the notes were in the hands of others; the people were sued, cows and horses not being sufficient to pay for securing it.” Crockett compared these warrants to “counterfeit bank notes in the hands of the person who obtained them, and die [sic] on their hands.”18
When, on October 22, 1824, the final session came to a close an exhausted Crockett was ready to go home. He was tired of squabbling over land rights, endless committee meetings, and boardinghouse food. His state political career had come to an end. But his national political career was just beginning. As wearisome as some of the proceedings might have been in Murfreesboro, Crockett surmised that maybe the place he could go and get more accomplished for the poor people he represented was in Washington, D.C. Just three days after the close of the final session, he circulated a letter to his constituents reporting on his activities on their behalf in the state legislature. After giving a summary of his accomplishments, he made a request:
Fellow Citizens of the Ninth Congressional District—
I now avail myself of the privilege common to every freeman, of offering myself as a candidate for a seat in the next Congress of the United States. It is not my design at this time to go into a detail of any of the subjects which may be expected to engage the attention of the next Congress, not to discuss any of the public measures of the country—sufficient time will intervene between now and the period of election, to see and converse with many of you—all I will now undertake to say is, that I feel as much interest in your welfare, and if elected, will bestow as much labor in promoting your interest as any other,
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
David Crockett
Nashville, 25th October, 1824
It was a bold move, but perhaps not so surprising for someone courageous enough to battle a bear with a knife or wade through icy river water to fetch a keg of gunpowder. Crockett believed he had a good chance of defeating his opponent—the incumbent congressman Adam Alexander. Crockett recalled that Alexander’s congressional vote on the tariff law of 1824 increased the already high rates and “gave a mighty heap of dissatisfaction to his people.”19 Crockett’s friends told him that Alexander was vulnerable and that, despite his wealth and connections, he could be beaten. They were wrong. Crockett may have been well liked by many people, but the congressional district he wished to represent covered eighteen counties, which meant Crockett would have to cover much territory. He simply could not afford the travel required to reach areas where he was not as well known, let alone come up with funds to buy those tobacco twists and drams of whiskey that had won him votes in the past. He stumped as much as he could afford and hoped for the best. In the