The Davy Crockett Bail Out

Several years ago I read this article in my childrens' textbook on government but it had slipped my mind until last night when I stumbled across it again. Take a few moments to read it in light of the recent Congressional actions attempting to correct the financial chaos in our nation.

David (“Davy”) Crockett, the nearly legendary Tennessee frontiersman, was elected to several terms in the United States House of Representatives in the 1820’s and 30’s. One evening, Congressman Crockett and some of his colleagues were talking on the steps of the Capitol. They saw a bright glow in the distance and realized that the nearby village of Georgetown was burning. The congressmen rushed to the village and helped to put out the blaze. The next morning, Congress set aside all other business and voted to give $20,000 from the government treasury to aid the families whose possessions had been burned in the fire. Davy Crockett voted in favor of the gift.

The following summer, Congressman Crockett was campaigning in his home district when he met a wise farmer named Horatio Bunce, who “… 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. …” Davy Crockett later reported of Mr. Bunce, “If everyone who professes to be a Christian lived and acted and enjoyed it as he does, the religion of Christ, would take the world by storm.” Mr. Bunce did not have much formal education, but he had a great deal of common sense. He was well acquainted with the operation of the federal government and was careful to keep up with all the Washington news. He knew that Congressman Crockett had voted in favor of the $20,000 gift. The farmer informed Crockett, “I shall not vote for you again.” Mr. Bunce told the colonel that Congress’s giving $20,000 to those fire victims was an unconstitutional act. Since Colonel Crockett had voted in favor of the gift, he had voted against the Constitution. Mr. Bunce said, “It is not the amount, Colonel, that I complain of; it is the principle … 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.” He added, “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 Constitution.”

Colonel Crockett recognized the truth of what Mr. Bunce was saying and promised to mend his voting record. Mr. Bunce pledged to help Crockett in his reelection campaign, and the two became close friends. A much wiser Davy Crockett returned to Washington. From that point on, he tried to keep Congress in the business of Constitutional government and out of the business of unconstitutional charity, which can be handled much more wisely by concerned individuals and groups than by a central government.

Hicks, Laurel, and George T. Thompson, Michael R. Lowman, George C. Cochran. American Government and Economics in Christian Perspective. (Pensacola: A Beka Books, 1984), 137.