Did you know that the Liberty Bell is on United Nations property? The irony both saddens and amuses me.
Tall Tales...is not my favorite forum. I keep reading stuff here by accident, and only later realize that everyone is supposed .to make up stuff. Sorry. Post deleted. . . .
The Liberty Bell is in the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park, which is a World Heritage Site, a landmark or area selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
I’m not sure ne’re do well is a correct description if we look at what his life consisted of. He worked on cattle drives as an indentured worker to pay off the family debts and when that was completed he also worked on a farm as an apprentice. His dad (John) later indentured David again for the same reasons mentioned above so most of his earlier life was spent doing some pretty hard work and in some pretty rough and tumble situations. He probably cussed, spit, kicked things and people and didn’t take a whole lot of guff from anyone and maybe didn’t take a whole lot of baths but even so, it kind of fits the woking, almost slave like, narrative that was imposed upon him as a lad and younger man. Now, if you’re referring to the fact that he served in congress, well, I have no love loss for politicians but while in congress David Crockett did the unthinkable and opposed Andrew Jackson’s “Indian Removel Act” which lost him a re-election to office. Later, he was given the position as a Colonel in the Tennessee militia and of course everyone knows of his eventual demise at the Alamo. Scoundrel might be a possible partial description of the man but someone who “never did well” might be a stretch.
Ahh, but he also bought his way into Congress in the first place with whiskey. As only men could vote in those days, and there weren't many in his district, he offered to buy whiskey for everyone who voted for him; it was before "buying votes" was illegal. For much of his adult life, he worshipped the ground Jackson walked on because he was good at using Indians then abandoning them, just as Crockett did with two wives and accompanying children. He would stay home long enough to get them pregnant, then leave them to fend for themselves. His second wife and family were left while he went to Texas to be killed, having a good deal of fun on the way. He was tough but unscrupulous. Daniel Boone, on the other hand was a good man, albeit naïve and not terribly bright. He had good leadership skill, however, and managed to accomplish quite a lot despite having being swindled out of his materials goods several times because he trusted the wrong people and made wrong decisions. Walt Disney fed the Crockett legend, but if you read what people really thought of him in the late 19th century...it wasn't much. His reputation was cleaned up a bit in the early 20th century and Disney made him into a hero.
Another count against him is that he helped Jackson found the Democratic party. A lot of Dems think that Jefferson was their founder, but Jackson changed the Democratic-Republicans to Democrats as an anti-Indian, pro-slavery party. The Federalists were dying off and were replaced by the Whigs as an anti-Jackson Party. Whigs wandered around with no other purpose once Jackson was out of office and were replaced by the Republican Party as an anti-slavery, abolitionist party. Ironically, most Blacks now vote with the pro-slavery, anti-civil rights party, largely I'm afraid, due to the welfare benefits. Even the "War on Poverty" of Lyndon Johnson ended up destroying the Black family.
I was in Philly, on July 4, 1966, for the 190th Celebration. I got to run my fingers along the crack in the Liberty Bell....along with a group of black school children. It was a special moment for me!