Book Review: David Crockett in Congress
David Crockett in Congress: The Rise and Fall of the Poor Man’s Friend
by James R. Boylston and Allen J. Wiener
Davy Crockett is a folk hero. Everybody can picture him fighting Indians, hunting bear, and dying at the Alamo. His political career as a Tennessee congressman is much less well known than his frontier legend.
David Crockett in Congress is an interesting political biography. Actually, it is the first biography that focuses deeply on Crockett’s political career. The authors were clearly not satisfied with how most Crockett biographies spend very little time on this aspect of his life. They present Crockett as a savvy politician who built his legendary “King of the Wild Frontier” image and used it during his campaigning.
The book takes you through Crockett’s entire time as a congressman. Each election is examined. There is also a large concentration on Crockett’s support of Tennessee’s Land Bill and his opposition to Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act. The authors show the reader how Crockett truly fought for the common man despite the political enemies his stance created.
Beyond the revealing biography, the book also serves as a great reference. It includes a large collection of Crockett’s correspondence, speeches, and political circulars.
Anyone interested in David Crockett should take a look at this book.
More info:
- The book has a website where you can read an excerpt (PDF).
- Author James Boylston’s blog.
- Author Allen Wiener’s blog.
- An interview with the authors on Alamo Sentry.
- See the book at Bright Sky Press.
- See the book on Amazon.
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