"Quotes By Davy Crockett" offers a fascinating glimpse into the life and wisdom of one of America's most iconic frontiersmen and folk heroes. Davy Crockett's legendary adventures and colorful personality have made him a beloved figure in American history. Beyond his frontier exploits, Crockett was known for his witty and insightful sayings that continue to resonate with people today.
In this exploration of "Quotes By Davy Crockett," we delve into the words and wisdom of the man who famously declared, "Be sure you're right, then go ahead." These quotes not only capture the spirit of the American frontier but also provide valuable lessons in courage, determination, and self-reliance.
Quotes By Davy Crockett (2024)
Explore the frontier wisdom, humor, and enduring insights of Davy Crockett, one of America's most iconic and legendary figures. Known for his adventurous spirit and remarkable wit, Davy Crockett's quotes offer a glimpse into the life of a true American folk hero.
"Be sure you're right, then go ahead."
"I leave this rule for others when I'm dead, Be always sure you're right—then go ahead!"
"I have always supported measures and principles and not men."
"The enemy never sees the backs of my Texans."
"Fame is like a shaved pig with a greased tail, and it is only after it has slipped through the hands of some thousands, that some fellow, by mere chance, holds on to it!"
"I'm that same David Crockett, fresh from the backwoods, half-horse, half-alligator, a little touched with the snapping turtle; can wade the Mississippi, leap the Ohio, ride upon a streak of lightning, and slip without a scratch down a honey locust."
"I know not whether, in the eyes of the world, a brilliant death is not preferred to an obscure life of rectitude. Most men are remembered as they died, and not as they lived. We gaze with admiration upon the glories of the setting sun, yet scarcely bestow a passing glance upon its noonday splendor."
"I would rather be beaten, and be a man, than to be elected and be a little puppy dog."
"I would rather be politically dead than hypocritically immortalized."
"I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not, they might go to hell, and I would go to Texas."
"The Constitution of the United States, and the Declaration of Independence, I hold to be, the best of human productions, and the greatest gift ever given by God to man."
"I'm not a Whig, nor an Anti-Mason, nor a Jackson man either; I'm a Tennessee Volunteer, and a Houston man."
"I would have voted for Adam and Eve, but not for Cain."
"This is the last speech I expect to make in the House, but my talk to the people will be such as they cannot mistake."
"Let your tongue speak what your heart thinks."
"I'm a whole-souled believer in the Bible. A man can't be President without believing in the Bible."
"I have suffered myself to be politically sacrificed to save my country from ruin and disgrace, and if I am never a gain elected, I will have the gratification to know that I have done my duty."
"I am at liberty to vote as my conscience and judgment dictates to be right, without the yoke of any party on me… Look at my arms, you will find no party hand-cuff on them."
"I would sooner be honestly damned than hypocritically immortalized."
"I want people to tell me the truth, even if it costs him his job."
"The government of the United States is a device for maintaining in perpetuity the rights of the people, with the ultimate extinction of all privileged classes."
"We have the right as individuals to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right to appropriate a dollar of the public money."
"The best luck that ever came to me was when I won a place in the hearts of the American people."
"You can all go to hell; I'm going to Texas."
"I leave this rule for others when I'm dead. Be always sure you're right—then go ahead."
"I have a wife and children, which is the strongest tie that binds one human being to another."
"I must say as to what I have seen of Texas, it is the garden spot of the world. The best land and the best prospects for health I ever saw, and I do believe it is a fortune to any man to come here."
"I'm going to Texas. If any of you are determined to go to hell, I believe you'd go quickest by way of Texas."
"I am no man's delegate; and if the people of Tennessee do not like me, they are not compelled to vote for me. I am as independent as a hog on ice."
"I told them that I was a member of Congress, and that I was out of provisions, but they mustered no sympathy for me. I told them that I would go to Congress and serve them as faithfully as I had served them in my natural vocation as a woodsman, or die in the attempt. But it was no go."
"I'm for an honest ballot if I die for it."
"I know not whether, in the eyes of the world, a brilliant death is not preferred to an obscure life of rectitude."
"I am no man's man."
"I would rather be shot than vote for a measure which I knew to be unconstitutional."
"I am sartin' tired of hearin' about danger to the Union. The danger is in the Southern disunionists. They are the danger. If they would let us alone there would be no danger whatever. But they are determined to agitate and raise the abolition question, and throw everything into confusion. I want everybody to understand that I hold the Union to be number one of all political matters. It is the lesser concern to know who is in power, and the greater concern to know how they got there."
"The Constitution and the laws are supreme and the Union indissoluble."
"Money with us is but dross, it cannot answer, it cannot save us from the common enemy. Our lives are in the hands of the Almighty. To him I resign myself, humbly trusting in his goodness and in his mercy."
"I have suffered my people to go hungry in the woods that I might feed the hungry in the cities."
"My life has been one of change, of excitement, and, I may say, of suffering. Such are the lives of all great men."
"I would rather be shot than vote for a measure which I knew to be unconstitutional."
"We must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living."
"I leave this rule for others when I'm dead, be always sure you're right, then go ahead."
"I'm that same David Crockett, fresh from the backwoods, half-horse, half-alligator, a little touched with the snapping turtle; can wade the Mississippi, leap the Ohio, ride upon a streak of lightning, and slip without a scratch down a honey locust tree."
"I leave this rule for others when I'm dead: Be always sure you're right—then go ahead."
"The Constitution ain't nothing more than a piece of paper with writing on it."
"I can never consent to being dictated to."
"I would rather be beaten and be a man than to be elected and be a little puppy dog."
"I am a whole-souled believer in the Bible as a divine revelation."
"You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas."
"I'm happy to go with my people."
"I believe that every man has a right to his own opinion."
"I am an American soldier, and I've been in one army, and I'm willing to go to another."
"I would rather be in my present situation than be elected to a seat in Congress for life."
"When a fellow's a Tennesseean, he knows instinctively when and where a fight is inevitable; and if you don't rush to it at the right moment, there ain't no use in rushing at all."
"I am a true friend of the temperance cause, but I can assure you that you will never find a Democrat who is not."
"The freest government cannot long endure when the tendency of the law is to create a rapid accumulation of property in the hands of a few, and to render the masses poor and dependent."
"I told them that I had suffered enough, and that I was willing to go to Texas and have a try at it."
"I can smile, and murder while I smile."
"I know not whether, in the eyes of the world, a brilliant death is not preferred to an obscure life of rectitude. Most men are remembered as they died, and not as they lived. We gaze with admiration upon the glories of the setting sun, yet scarcely bestow a passing glance upon it as it rises."
"I hold that, in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual."
"I believe that the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person, and property, or when lawfully summoned in aid of the civil power, ought to be preserved inviolate."
"I know not what others may choose but, as for me, give me liberty or give me death."
"The sun never sets on a man who is in possession of an honest heart and a good head."
"Money with me ain't anything, just a thing to do business with."
"I am one of you, and being one of you, I am now one of the people."
"You may go to hell, and I will go to Texas."
"I told them that I had suffered enough, and that I was willing to go to Texas and have a try for it."
"I go for Liberty first, last, and all the time."
"I would sooner trust my horse with a wild Indian than my wife with a Yankee schoolteacher."
"A gentleman from Nacogdoches has just informed me that it is the intention of the Mexicans to establish a military post at Nacogdoches. The gentleman thinks that it is to keep the American citizens quiet."
"I believed that the sudden introduction of Texas into the Union as a state would force upon us the whole question of slavery, and upon the instant. I was willing to go as far as my responsibility would allow to avoid the introduction of that question."
"I go for recognizing all white men as free and equal."
"I will be one of the first to volunteer."
"I told them to go to hell."
"My life has been one of excitement."
"I knew it was impossible to make a solid argument for anything without first admitting the Constitution of the United States to be the source of all government authority, and that the Constitution recognized the right of a state to secede."
"I shall continue to exert all my powers to gain for Texas the redress of her wrongs and the restoration of her independence."
"You can all go to hell, and I will go to Texas."
"I'm that same David Crockett, fresh from the backwoods, half-horse, half-alligator, a little touched with the snapping turtle."
"I leave this rule for others when I'm dead: Be always sure you're right - then go ahead."
"I'm for no man unless he's for the right."
"I want people to be independent enough to take care of themselves."
"I'm one of those lucky fellows who travels a good deal, and I see in many places a great deal of attention paid to schools; but I must say that in no place have I seen an equal attention paid to boarding-houses."
"I was one among the many who flocked to the banner of Jackson, when he appeared as a candidate for the Presidency, and I am one of the many who hoped and expected to see the principles of Jackson carried out."
"I would rather be the man who bought the Brooklyn Bridge than the man who sold it."
"I would sooner trust my enemies than my friends."
"I would sooner trust a crow to steal a tater from a turnip patch than be left alone with a government official."
"I would sooner trust a governor than a garter snake."
"I would sooner trust a horse thief than a politician."
"I would sooner trust a polecat than a politician."
"I would sooner trust a rattlesnake than a politician."
"I would sooner trust a skunk than a lawyer."
"I would sooner trust a wolf in the henhouse than a politician in Washington."
"I would sooner trust my horse with a wild Indian than my watch with a Yankee peddler."
"I would sooner trust my horse with a wild Indian than my wife with a politician."
"I would sooner trust my horse with a wild Indian than my wife with a preacher."
"I would sooner trust my horse with a wild Indian than my wife with a Yankee schoolteacher."
"I would sooner trust my horse with a wild Indian than my wife with a Yankee soldier."
"I would sooner trust my life with a bear, and my money with a robber, than my wife with a whig."
In the grand tapestry of American history, the indomitable spirit of pioneers and frontiersmen like Davy Crockett shines as a beacon of resilience and determination. As Crockett himself once said, "I leave this rule for others when I'm dead. Be always sure you're right - THEN GO AHEAD!" His words encapsulate the unwavering commitment to one's principles and values that defined his life. Davy Crockett's legacy extends far beyond his iconic coonskin cap and legendary adventures in the wild frontier.
In a world where challenges abound, we can draw inspiration from Davy Crockett's enduring wisdom. His timeless quote serves as a reminder that, in the face of adversity and uncertainty, unwavering determination and a steadfast moral compass can guide us toward success and fulfillment.