David Crockett in Congress: The Rise and Fall of the Poor Man's Friend

"Winner! 2010 Independent Publishers Award for Regional Non-Fiction!"

Countering the widespread historical persona of David Crockett as little more than a coonskin-capped, buckskin-clad frontier hero, this remarkable biography chronicles his life in politics, revealing him instead as an inveterate entrepreneur, advocate for the poor, and career politician with a talent for hardball campaigning. Through a careful review of his letters, speeches, and political circulars, this provocative and insightful examination provides a unique, long-ignored perspective on the man behind the legend and corrects inaccurate portrayals perpetuated by previous works, most notably James A. Shackford's landmark 1956 biography. Following his political rise from justice of the peace and magistrate to two-term representative in the Tennessee State Legislature and three-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, this account fully documents the elections of 1829, 1831, 1833, and 1835 and details the progress of both the Tennessee Land Bill (1829-1830) and the Indian Removal Bill (1830). A truly exceptional volume, this exploration offers an alternative context for one of American history's most important figures and evaluates the political objectives for which he constantly strove.