Chapter 4: Congressman Crockett

Chapter 4: Congressman Crockett

Davy often went to Nashville, the capital of Tennessee. In Nashville, he worked for the Tennessee Government. One day, while Davy was working for the Tennessee Government, a big flood destroyed his mill. This was terrible! He was very unhappy because he lost a lot of money.

When he returned to Lawrenceburg, he started a new type of work. This time he made barrels! He sold these barrels in New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans was about 400 miles away.

To go to New Orleans, he travelled on the Mississippi River. He had a big boat to carry the barrels. It was difficult to travel on the Mississippi River. There were many dangers.

One day his boat had a bad accident. It began to sink. Davy almost drowned. He lost his boat and his barrels but he didn’t lose his life!

In 1827 there was a big election in Tennessee. Davy Crockett became a United States Congressman! This was a great honour for him. In the United States Congress, he represented the people of Tennessee. He travelled to Washington D. C., the capital of the United States.

Davy was very happy to be a Congressman. He wanted to help his people. There were Congressmen who wanted to take land away from the Fox Indians of Tennessee. Davy protected these Indians. He fought against dishonest Congressmen.

“The Fox Indians cannot live without their land!” Davy shouted. “I must defend all the American people of Tennessee: the whites and the Indians!”

After months of hard work, Davy was not able to help the Fox Indians. The U. S. Congress made a law that took away land from the Indians. Davy was very angry. He hated injustice. In 1835 he left the U. S. Congress!