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David “Davy” Crockett (August 17, 1786-March 6, 1836) is known as king of the frontier, congressman for Tennessee, and a soldier during the Texas Revolution. Crockett began telling stories about hunting with his vivid imagination as a young kid while growing up in eastern Tennessee. One interesting fact about Crockett is that he ran away from home at just thirteen since his father made him attend school where Crockett was scared of the class bully and did not return home for at least two years. In those years Crockett spent time wondering in the woods surviving on his own, which is where most of his exceptional imagination started to form in his storytelling. From then Crockett returned home, worked with his father, and married Mary Finley. Together the couple had two sons and a daughter before Finley passed away. Following her death Crockett enlisted into the military in 1813 and was part of the massacre against the Creek Indians at Tallushatchee, and then returned home. Crockett was also a part of Congress for the state of Tennessee and was elected in 1827 and also in 1829 as a Democrat and then again in 1833 as part of the Whig party. In 1835 Crockett then ran for the congressional election and lost. After his defeat he decided to sign up with the military again. Crockett fought in the Texas Revolution and then on March 6, 1836 he was killed in the Battle of the Alamo. From being a runaway, fighting in multiple wars, and being in politics Crockett became famous mostly for his creative storytelling. Since his death the story of Davy Crockett and even some of his small stories have been made into television movies and stories. Crockett’s name is even now greatly known across the country as the great pioneer and hunter. During Crockett’s lifetime he only published one piece which was an autobiography titled “A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee.” Crockett used this piece of writing to tell his beloved stories and to share his beliefs behind politics. One of the best known writer also known in American literature that is similar to some of Crockett’s writings is Mark Twain. Twain also used his vivid imagination within his storytelling which is very similar to the way Crockett would create his stories. Overall David Crockett was a phenomenal part of creating American literature into what it is today, and an amazing icon for new generations to look up to and enjoy his stories.
Biography.com Editors. “John Smith Biography”, A&E Television Networks, April 2, 2014, https://www.biography.com/people/john-smith-9486928
Emerson, Everett H. Major Writers of Early American Literature, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1972. Print.
Szaylay, Jessie. “John Smith of Jamestown: Facts and Biography”, Live Science, November 1, 2013, https://www.livescience.com/40898-captain-john-smith.html
History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/davy-crockett.