December 30, 2025 • 33 mins
Michael Berry dives into the forgotten history of Davy Crockett’s stand against unconstitutional spending, the constituent who changed his thinking, and why real leadership often means standing alone. A timeless story with modern relevance.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's that time. Time, time, time, luck and load. The
Michael Verie Show is on the air.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I'm going to prepare to offend a number of folks
with what I'm about to say, and I want to
make sure you understand before you email me. I'm okay
that you're offended. Okay, I'm okay if I tell you
I think Earl Campbell's the greatest running back in the
history of the NFL. Because I love my love you Blue,
(00:45):
and you say that's offensive. I love Walter Payton or
OJ Simpson or Jim Brown or whoever that might Bury Sanders,
whoever that might be.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
I didn't say that expecting you to like what I
I had to say.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
You tuned in, and you should hope. I'm honest. If
you never disagree with the opinion of a host and
you listen to them every day, I got news for you.
If two people always agree, one of them is not necessary.
And I got more news for you. If you never
(01:22):
disagree with a single person, I mean, with a host
on a single issue, and you think that is an
endorsement of how great they are, it's not. That is
a sign that they are reading the wind. They are
reading the tea leaves. They are telling you what you
want to hear. So I will tell you this. I
(01:45):
believe that there is an attack coordinated not necessarily across
the religions, but by other religions against Christians in this country.
I believe that, and I believe it comes from people
(02:06):
feeling left out if we talk about Christ or the
Bible and our faith because they're not part of it. Well,
guess what if I find out at the spetzel Fest
in Texas that they've been doing polka dancing last weekend
and maybe I wasn't invited, I don't get my feelings hurt.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
That's what they do.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
If in a public gathering people want to celebrate their family,
their tradition, their alma mater, even though I'm not part
of any of those, That's okay.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
I'm a big boy.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
And in a pluralistic society, which is what everybody claims
they want. So you don't have these problems in China.
You don't have these problems in Japan where you have
complete homogeneity, You've got complete dominance by a single race culture.
And what little bit you look at the Wigers in China,
(03:09):
the Muslims, and how the China, how the problems they've
had there.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
But I want to get back to the point here.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
When I'm appreciative that the President has taken up this issue,
and I am tired of people who I think agree
with him but are too chicken to say it publicly.
If you feel the need to say, hey, if you're
Jewish and offended, Hey if you're a Muslim and offended,
Hey if you're Atheist and offended. Hey if you're Hindu
and offended. I hope you're not offended. But why are
(03:39):
you worried whether they're offended? Do you believe what you
believe only as long as no one else is offended.
So if you're spending more time worried about offending people
who believe in the supremacy of their God.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Then you do.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Practicing and expressing your own faith, then maybe they are
bigger believers than you are. It is not your job
to coddle those who do not share your beliefs. We
don't murder others for not sharing our beliefs. Do you
(04:23):
think there are any other religions in the world who do.
We don't rape the women of those who do not
share our beliefs. When we conquer their lands or defeat
them on the battlefield. We worship our God in our way. Now,
there are a number of Christians. See when Christians are
(04:43):
in the majority, they're very guilt ridden. They're not comfortable
with this, kind of like the Republicans. They don't like
to be in power. They'd rather be out of power.
We are better when persecuted. But when you hear people
say President Trump shouldn't talk about the Christians faith, that's
a violation of church and state. If you ever learn
(05:06):
anything from me ever, in the time that you listen
for one year or one hundred, let it be this.
Everything you know about the separation of church and state
is wrong. Of the ten commandments the first and they're
laid out in Exodus twenty and Deuteronomy.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
I think it's four or five Deuteronomy five.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
The first commandment, thou shalt have no other gods before me. Well,
you're a white supremacist. No, I am not a white
supremacist in the sense that I'm trying to subjugate other people.
But am I proud of my people? Am I proud
(05:56):
of people who look like me? Am I proud of
my heritage? Am I proud.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Of the colure.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yes I am, and your attempt to make me ashamed
of it that works on other people, not on me.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
But here is let me get to this quickly.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
The idea of the separation of church and state did
not mean that the church will not be involved in
the state. It meant that the state will not be
involved in the church. And what happened is that the
King of England was having problems in his marriage, couldn't
get what he wanted from the pope. So he declared,
(06:36):
I'm the King of the Church of England, my own church.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Pope begone.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I'll issue the rulings, I'll issue the indulgences in.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Charge for him. So here is.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist and they
were worried about this. And he says, believing with you
that religion is a matter which lies solely between man
and his God, that he owes account to none other
for his faith or his worship. That the legitimate powers
of government reach actions only and not opinions. I contemplate
(07:11):
with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people
which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting
an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,
thus building a wall of separation between church and state.
What he is saying is that Congress that in our
(07:33):
founding documents. In that founding document we said, Congress shall
make no law respecting an establishment of religion. Congress shall
not determine who is and isn't a Christian, or a Jew,
or a Hindu or Muslim. Congress shall make no laws
relating to that, nor shall Congress prohibit the free expression thereof.
(07:58):
You are free to worship how whoever you worship, and
government shall not get in the way. But just as
every other organization APAC, the NRA, the Farmers Association, the
Church is more than able to be a part of
our government, and our founding documents have Christian biblical statements
(08:21):
all over. Be not a shamed Christians any law.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
The Michael Berries Show continues on this day in nineteen
fifty five, which makes it seventy years ago.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Love His Grief was.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
There were four different versions of this name about it
of Davy Crockett on the market and.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Lose on the charts, believe it or not.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
One was by Walter Schumann, one was by the Great Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Ernie Ford.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
One was by the best Parker, but you knew that
already because he started the movie the fourth You get
extra extra credit lanyap on top of lanyap if you
knew that it's Bill Hayes.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
His has went to number one.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
And uh. I love the story of David Crockett, but
not for the reason that you might think.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
My youngest son is named Crockett.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Crockett Marcos Berry Marcos one of his Ethiopian names. We
kept our children's Ethiopian names as part of their overall identity,
even though we gave them names that we chose as
their sort of Christian name, the name that they go by.
But Crockett was so named after a hero of mine.
(09:51):
We went by the name David Crockett, but legend has
him at Davy Crockett. I don't know that it matters today.
David Crockett who died at the Alamo, and as a child,
I was as inspired as I am today by the
men who fought at the Mission in San Antonio against
the Mexicans and died valiantly. Davy Crockett's a great story
(10:14):
because of the you may all go to Hell. I'm
going to Texas story he was. He was one of
the first, after Daniel Boone, one of the first true
American heroes for some reason other than being a president
(10:34):
or a general. He was Colonel David Crockett. But he
was a hero for his exploits. He once showed up
in New York at a Broadway musical about the exploits
of Davy Crockett. But the reason I adore his memory
in his legacy is more than all of those things,
(10:57):
although of course they add to them. It is a
story that's kind of Ron Paul in the telling, and
not many people like this, very few people. Indeed, it's
because of the speech he gave, and that speech came
to be known as not yours to give, not yours
to give. Say that out loud, because you're gonna want
(11:19):
to look this up, because most of you probably don't
know this story about David Crockett, because you think of
David Crockett as the legend and killed him a bar
when he was only three, and dying at the Alamo
and the Coonskin Cap and all those are wonderful aspects
to the legend of David Crockett.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
But while David Crockett was in Congress.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
There was a request for the widow of a celebrated
naval officer, and Congress was ready right there on the spot. Boom,
let's give her a bunch of money from the public treasury.
And David Crockett did something very brave. He stood on principle,
because surely with the old woman.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Here, are gonna.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Give some money out of the federal government. Federal government's
got it, and we're in charge of it. We're the appropriators.
That's what Congress does. So let's give her some money.
And there was quite the fervor. Yeah, let's give her
some money. It's the people's money. Who cares, and we'd
give it to her. We'll look like stars and Davy Crockett,
Colonel Crockett stood up and said, I have as much
respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much
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sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be,
as any.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Man in this house.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
But we must not permit our respect for the dead,
or our sympathy for a part of the living, to
lead us to an act of injustice to the.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Balance of the living. That means everybody else.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
I will not go into an argument to prove that
Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an
act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it.
We have the right as individuals to give away as
much of our own money as we please. In chair,
but as members of Congress, we have no right so
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to appropriate a dollar of.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
The public money.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
We cannot, without the grossest corruption, appropriate this money as
the payment of a debt. We have not the semblance
of authority to appropriate it as a charity. Mister Speaker,
I have said we have the right to give as
much money of our own as we please. I am
the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for
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this bill. But I will give one week's pay to
the object that's the widow, And if every member of
Congress will do the same, it will amount to more
than the bill asks. He then went on to say,
in quoting a constituent, the people have delegated to Congress
by the Constitution, the power to do certain things. To
do these, it is authorized to collect and pay monies,
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and for nothing else. Everything beyond this is usurpation and
a violation of the Constitution. Now there is more to
this story, and it will require the next segment for
me to get to it. There is more to this
story than what David Crockett did. What he did, the
(14:15):
action he took was an act of courage, real courage.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
The reason he.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Did it is an act of incredible humility. And it
just goes to show that as we walk through this world,
we make mistakes.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
We all do. And it's not whether we make mistakes.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
We endeavor not to, but it is whether or not
we learn from them, whether we learn from the things
we do the mistakes we make. And Davy Crockett went
on to explain his vote, and I will read you
the rest of his speech where he does that it's
incredibly powerful. Well before we do that, I will say
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that you will find many times that the greatest acts
of valor, and this is the part that I think
people miss are typically not celebrated by those around them.
People who stand on principle are typically not honored and
celebrated for standing on principle. When Ted Cruse went to
(15:17):
the United States Senate, I had worked very hard to
put him there, as did a lot of other people,
and when he got there, he would lose votes ninety
nine to one. Lindsey Graham said that there were members
in the Senate who wanted to murder him.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Send that into a hot microphone. There are senators who
wanted to murder him.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
And John McCain said, it tells you how popular he
is that he loses votes ninety nine to one. But
I went back and read those votes, and they were
issues that the Senate had rubber stamped. They were swamp
issues and the concept was as long as everybody hangs together,
we don't hang by ourselves. And so what Ted Cruz
(15:58):
was doing was making a name for himself with the
as It's constituency with Tea Party voters, which which became
Maga vote.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
But he wasn't very popular. He wasn't popular at all. Anyway,
I'll read you that letter coming.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Up Aptain something wong, Well, something must be right. You're
listening to Michael Berry, Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
So I told you that David Crockett, while the widow
had been brought forward before the Congress. Her husband, a
celebrated naval officer who had passed, and here she was
the widow and she wanted some money, and they said, oh, yes,
your husband was a great man. Let's let's write a
check from the Treasury to you, David Crockett said, you
(16:44):
can't do that. You don't have the power. We do
not have the power to appropriate charity. And by the way,
we can give charity of our own money.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
And I'll start.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
I'm the poorest fella in this Congress, and I'll give
a week of my pay, and if every one of
you will do the same, we'll give her more money
than you're trying to give her from the Treasury.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Well, as you might imagine, nobody joined him in that offer.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
But as I told you, that's not the fact that
he did such a principal thing is impressive.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
The fact of how he came to do.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
That, that's the story I think makes this really really special.
And I'll read to you from his speech, he said,
it's not during his speech. This was later he was
asked by a friend, why did you do that? My god,
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everybody hated you for that, And he said, well, several
years ago, I was one evening standing on the steps
of the Capitol with some other members of Congress when
our attention was attracted by a great light over in Georgetown,
evidently a large fire. We jumped into a hack and
drove over as fast as we could, in spite of
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all that could be done. In spite of all that
could be done, many houses were burned, and many families
made homeless. And besides, some of them had lost all
but the clothes they had on. The weather was very cold,
and when I saw so many women and children suffering,
I felt that something ought to be done for them.
The next morning a bill was introduced appropriating twenty thousand
dollars for their relief. We put aside all other business
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and rushed it through as soon as.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
It could be done.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
The next summer, when it began to be time to
think about the election, I concluded I would not sorry.
I concluded I would take a scout around among the
boys of my district. I had no opposition there, but
as the election was some time off, I didn't know
what might turn up. When riding one day and a
part of my district in which I was more of
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a stranger than any other, I saw a man in
a field plowing and coming toward the road. I gauged
my gate so that we should meet as he came
to the fence. As he came up, I spoke to
the man. He replied politely, but as I thought rather coldly.
I began, well, friend, I'm one of those unfortunate beings
called candidates, and yes I know who you are, your
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Colonel Crockett. I have seen you once before and voted
for you the last time you were elected. I suppose
you're out electioneering now, but you'd better not waste your
time or mine. I shall not vote for you again.
This was a sock dollarger. I begged him to tell
me what was the matter. Well, Colonel, it is hardly
worthwhile to waste time or words upon it. I do
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not see how it can be mended. But you gave
a vote last winter, which shows that either you have
not capacity to understand the Constitution, or that you are wanting,
in the honesty and firmness to be guided by it.
In either case, you are not the man to represent me.
But I beg your pardon for expressing it that way.
I did not, atend intend to avail myself of the
(20:00):
privilege of the constituent to speak plainly to a candidate
for the purpose of insulting or wounding you. I intend,
by it only to say that you are understanding of
the Constitution is very different from mine, and I will
say to you what But for my rudeness, I should
not have said that.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
I believe you to be honest.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
But an understanding of the Constitution different from mine I
cannot overlook. Because the Constitution to be worth anything must
be held sacred and rigidly observed in all its provisions.
The man who wields power and misinterprets it is the
more dangerous, the more honest he is. I admit the
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truth of all you say, but there must be some
mistake about it, for I do not remember that I
gave any vote last winter upon any constitutional question. No, colonel,
there's no mistake. Though I live here in the backwoods
and seldom go from home, I take the papers from
Washington and ready very carefully all the proceedings of Congress.
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My papers say that last winter you voted for a
bill to appropriate twenty thousand dollars to some sufferers by
a fire in Georgetown.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Is that true?
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Well, my friend, I may as well own up. You
got me there, But certainly nobody will complain that a
great and rich country like ours should give the insignificant
sum of twenty thousand dollars to receive its suffering. To
relieve its suffering women and children, particularly with the full
and overflowing treasury. And I'm sure if you'd been there,
you would have done just as I did. It is
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not the amount, Colonel, that I complain of. It is
the principle. In the first place, the government ought to
have in the treasury no more than enough for its
legitimate purposes.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
But that has nothing to do with the question.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
The power of collecting and dispersing money at pleasure is
the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man,
particularly under our system of collecting revenue by a tariff,
which reaches every man in the country, matter or how
poor he may be, And the poorer he is, the
more he pays in proportion to his means. What is worse,
it presses upon him without his knowledge where the weight centers.
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For there is not a man in the United States
who can ever guess how much he pays to the government.
So you see that while you are contributing to relieve one,
you are drawing it from thousands who are even worse
off than he. If you had the right to give anything,
the amount was simply a matter of discretion with you,
and you had as much right to give twenty thousand
as twenty million. If you have the right to give
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to one, you have the right to give to all.
And as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount,
you are at liberty to give it to any and
everything which you may believe or profess to believe, is
a charity. And to any amount you may think proper,
you will very easily perceive what a wide door that
would open for fraud and corruption and favoritism on the
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one hand, and for robbing the people on the other. No, Colonel,
Congress has no right to give charity. Individual members may
give as much of their own money as they please,
but they have no right to touch a dollar of
the public money for that purpose. If twice as many
houses had been burned in this country, in this county,
as in Georgetown, neither you nor any other member of
Congress would have thought of appropriating a dollar for our relief.
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There are about two hundred and forty members of Congress.
If they'd shown their sympathy for the sufferers by contributing
each one weeks each one's week's pay, it would have
made over thirteen thousand dollars. There are plenty of wealthy
men in and around Washington who would have given twenty
thousand without depriving themselves of even a luxury of life.
The congressmen chose to keep their own money, which, if
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reports be true, some of them spend not very credibly.
And the people about Washington, no doubt applauded you for
relieving them from the necessity of giving by giving what
was not yours to give. The people have delegated to
Congress by the Constitution, the power to do certain things.
To do these, it is authorized to collect and pay moneies,
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and for nothing else. Everything beyond them is usurpation and
a violation of the Constitution.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
So you see, colonel, you.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Violated the Constitution what I consider a vital point. It
is a precedent fraught with danger to the country, for
when Congress once begins to stretch its power beyond the
limits of the Constitution, there is no limit to it
and no security for the people. I have no doubt
you acted honestly, but that does not make it any better,
except as far as you are personally concerned. And you
(24:27):
see that I cannot vote for you. I'm going to
continue reading this, and it's going.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
To be in the podcast if you want to hear
the rest of the score.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
So otherwise, I think you get the point of why
he cast his next vote against the widow's money.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
I tell you, I felt street.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
I saw if I should have opposition, and this man
should go to talk, and he would set others to talking.
And in that district, I was a gone fawn skin.
I could not answer him. And the fact is I
was so fully convinced that he was right. I didn't
want to, but I must satisfy him. And I said
to him, well, my friend, you hit the nail upon
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the head when you said I did not have sense
enough to understand the Constitution. I intended to be guided
by it, and thought I had studied it fully. I
have heard many speeches in Congress about the powers of Congress.
But what you have said here at your plow has
gotten me more hard sound sense in it than the
(25:45):
fine speeches.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
I have ever heard.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
If I had ever taken the view of it that
you have, I would have put my head into the
fire before I would have given that vote. And if
you will forgive me and vote for me again, if
I ever vote for another unconstitutional law.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
I wish I may be shot.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
He laughingly replied, Yes, colonel, you have sworn to that
once before. But I will trust you again upon one condition.
You say that you are convinced your vote was wrong.
Your acknowledgment of it will do more good than beating
you for it. If as you go around the district,
you will tell people about this vote and you are satisfied.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
It was wrong.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I will not only vote for you, but I will
do what I can to keep down opposition, and perhaps
I may exert some little influence in that way. If
I don't, said I, I wish I may be shot,
and to convince you that I am in earnest in
what I say, I will come back this way in
a week or ten days, and if you will get
up a gathering of the people, I will make a
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speech to them. Get up a barbecue, and I will
pay for it. No, colonel, we are not rich people
in this section, but we have plenty of provisions to
contribute for a barbecue, and some to spare for those
who have none. The push of crops will be over
in a few days, and we can then afford a
day for a barbecue.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
This is Thursday. I will see to getting it up
on Saturday. Week.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Come to my house on Friday and we will go together.
And I promise you a very respectable crowd to see.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
And hear you well. I will be here.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
But one thing more before I say goodbye, I must
know your name. My name is Bunce, not Horatio Buns. Yes, well,
mister Bunce. I never saw you before, though you say
you have seen me. But I know you very well.
I am glad I've met you, and very proud that
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I may hope to have you for my friend. It
was one of the luckiest hits of my life that
I met him. He mingled but little with the public,
but was widely known for his remarkable intelligence and incorruptible integrity,
and for a heart brimful and running over with kindness
and benevolence which showed themselves not only in words but
(28:14):
in acts. He was the oracle of the whole country
around him, and his fame had extended far beyond the
circle of his immediate acquaintance. Though I had never met
him before, I had heard much of him. And but
for this meeting, it is likely I should have had
opposition and had been beaten. One thing is very certain.
No man could now stand up in that district under.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
Such a vote.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
At the appointed time, I was at his house, having
told our conversation to every crowd i'd met and every
man I stayed all night with, And I found that
it gave the people an interest in a confidence in
me stronger than i'd ever seen manifested before. Though I
was considerably fatigued when I reached his house, and under
ordinary circumstances, should have gone early to bed, that I
(29:00):
kept him up until midnight talking about the principles and
affairs of government, and I got more real, true knowledge
of them than i'd got all my life before. I
have known and seen much of him since, for I
respect him, No, that is not the word. I reverence
and love him more than any living man. And I
go to see him two to three times every year.
(29:21):
And I will tell you if everyone who professes to
be a Christian lived and acted and enjoyed it as
he does, the religion of Christ would take the world
by storm. But to return to my story, the next
morning we went to the barbecue, and to my surprise,
found about a thousand men there. I met a good
many whom I had not known before, and they and
(29:44):
my friend introduced me around until I got pretty well acquainted.
At least they all knew me. In due time, notice
was given that I would speak to them. They gathered
up around a stand and had been that had been
erected for the occasion.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
I opened my speech.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
By saying, quote, Fellow citizens, I present vent myself to
you today, feeling like a new man. My eyes have
lately been open to truths with which ignorance, or prejudice,
or both had heretofore hidden from my view. I feel
that I can today offer you the ability to render
you more valuable service than I have ever been able
(30:18):
to render before. I am here today more for the
purpose of acknowledging my error than to seek your votes.
That I should make this acknowledgment is due to myself
as well as to you. Whether you will vote for
me is a matter for your consideration only. I went
on to tell them about the fire and my vote
for the appropriation, and then told them why I was
(30:40):
satisfied it was wrong. I closed by saying, and now,
fellow citizens, it remains only for me to tell you
that the most of the speech you have listened to
with so much interest was simply a repetition of the
arguments by which your neighbor, mister Buntz convinced me of
my error. It is the best speech I ever made
in my life life, but he is entitled to the
(31:02):
credit for it. And now I hope he is satisfied
with his convert and that he will get up here
and tell you. So. He came upon the stand and said,
fellow citizens, it affords me great pleasure to comply with
the request of Colonel Crockett. I have always considered him
a thoroughly honest man, and I am satisfied that he
(31:22):
will faithfully perform all that he has promised you. Today
he went down, and there went up from that crowd
such a shout for Davy Crockett, as his name never
called forth before. I am not much given to tears,
but I was taken with a choking then, and felt
(31:42):
some big drops rolling down my cheeks.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
And I tell you now.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
That the remembrance of these few words spoken by such
a man, and the honest, hearty shout they produced, is
worth more to me than all the honors I have
received and all the reputation I ever made or shall
ever make as a member of Congress. Now, Sir concluded Crockett.
You know why I made that speech.
Speaker 4 (32:07):
Today.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
There is one thing now to which I will call
your attention. You remember that I propose to give a
week's pay. There are in that house many very wealthy men,
men who think nothing is spending a week's pay, or
a dozen of them for a dinner or a wine party,
when they have something to accomplish by it. Some of
those same men made beautiful speeches upon the great debt
(32:29):
of gratitude which the country owed the deceased, a debt
which could not be paid by money, and the insignificance
and worthlessness of money, particularly so insignificant a sum is
ten thousand dollars when weighted against the honor.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Of our nation.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Yet not one of them responded to my proposition. Money
with them is nothing but trash when it is to
come out of the people. But it is the one
great thing for which most of them are striving, and
many of them sacrifice honor, integrity, and justice to obtain it.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
And that, my family, is why I name my son
crock Ladies and gentlemen, all this nas left for gilding.
Thank you, and good night.
It's that time. Time, time, time, luck and load. The
Michael Verie Show is on the air.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I'm going to prepare to offend a number of folks
with what I'm about to say, and I want to
make sure you understand before you email me. I'm okay
that you're offended. Okay, I'm okay if I tell you
I think Earl Campbell's the greatest running back in the
history of the NFL. Because I love my love you Blue,
(00:45):
and you say that's offensive. I love Walter Payton or
OJ Simpson or Jim Brown or whoever that might Bury Sanders,
whoever that might be.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
I didn't say that expecting you to like what I
I had to say.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
You tuned in, and you should hope. I'm honest. If
you never disagree with the opinion of a host and
you listen to them every day, I got news for you.
If two people always agree, one of them is not necessary.
And I got more news for you. If you never
(01:22):
disagree with a single person, I mean, with a host
on a single issue, and you think that is an
endorsement of how great they are, it's not. That is
a sign that they are reading the wind. They are
reading the tea leaves. They are telling you what you
want to hear. So I will tell you this. I
(01:45):
believe that there is an attack coordinated not necessarily across
the religions, but by other religions against Christians in this country.
I believe that, and I believe it comes from people
(02:06):
feeling left out if we talk about Christ or the
Bible and our faith because they're not part of it. Well,
guess what if I find out at the spetzel Fest
in Texas that they've been doing polka dancing last weekend
and maybe I wasn't invited, I don't get my feelings hurt.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
That's what they do.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
If in a public gathering people want to celebrate their family,
their tradition, their alma mater, even though I'm not part
of any of those, That's okay.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
I'm a big boy.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
And in a pluralistic society, which is what everybody claims
they want. So you don't have these problems in China.
You don't have these problems in Japan where you have
complete homogeneity, You've got complete dominance by a single race culture.
And what little bit you look at the Wigers in China,
(03:09):
the Muslims, and how the China, how the problems they've
had there.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
But I want to get back to the point here.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
When I'm appreciative that the President has taken up this issue,
and I am tired of people who I think agree
with him but are too chicken to say it publicly.
If you feel the need to say, hey, if you're
Jewish and offended, Hey if you're a Muslim and offended,
Hey if you're Atheist and offended. Hey if you're Hindu
and offended. I hope you're not offended. But why are
(03:39):
you worried whether they're offended? Do you believe what you
believe only as long as no one else is offended.
So if you're spending more time worried about offending people
who believe in the supremacy of their God.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Then you do.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Practicing and expressing your own faith, then maybe they are
bigger believers than you are. It is not your job
to coddle those who do not share your beliefs. We
don't murder others for not sharing our beliefs. Do you
(04:23):
think there are any other religions in the world who do.
We don't rape the women of those who do not
share our beliefs. When we conquer their lands or defeat
them on the battlefield. We worship our God in our way. Now,
there are a number of Christians. See when Christians are
(04:43):
in the majority, they're very guilt ridden. They're not comfortable
with this, kind of like the Republicans. They don't like
to be in power. They'd rather be out of power.
We are better when persecuted. But when you hear people
say President Trump shouldn't talk about the Christians faith, that's
a violation of church and state. If you ever learn
(05:06):
anything from me ever, in the time that you listen
for one year or one hundred, let it be this.
Everything you know about the separation of church and state
is wrong. Of the ten commandments the first and they're
laid out in Exodus twenty and Deuteronomy.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
I think it's four or five Deuteronomy five.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
The first commandment, thou shalt have no other gods before me. Well,
you're a white supremacist. No, I am not a white
supremacist in the sense that I'm trying to subjugate other people.
But am I proud of my people? Am I proud
(05:56):
of people who look like me? Am I proud of
my heritage? Am I proud.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Of the colure.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yes I am, and your attempt to make me ashamed
of it that works on other people, not on me.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
But here is let me get to this quickly.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
The idea of the separation of church and state did
not mean that the church will not be involved in
the state. It meant that the state will not be
involved in the church. And what happened is that the
King of England was having problems in his marriage, couldn't
get what he wanted from the pope. So he declared,
(06:36):
I'm the King of the Church of England, my own church.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Pope begone.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I'll issue the rulings, I'll issue the indulgences in.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Charge for him. So here is.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist and they
were worried about this. And he says, believing with you
that religion is a matter which lies solely between man
and his God, that he owes account to none other
for his faith or his worship. That the legitimate powers
of government reach actions only and not opinions. I contemplate
(07:11):
with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people
which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting
an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,
thus building a wall of separation between church and state.
What he is saying is that Congress that in our
(07:33):
founding documents. In that founding document we said, Congress shall
make no law respecting an establishment of religion. Congress shall
not determine who is and isn't a Christian, or a Jew,
or a Hindu or Muslim. Congress shall make no laws
relating to that, nor shall Congress prohibit the free expression thereof.
(07:58):
You are free to worship how whoever you worship, and
government shall not get in the way. But just as
every other organization APAC, the NRA, the Farmers Association, the
Church is more than able to be a part of
our government, and our founding documents have Christian biblical statements
(08:21):
all over. Be not a shamed Christians any law.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
The Michael Berries Show continues on this day in nineteen
fifty five, which makes it seventy years ago.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Love His Grief was.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
There were four different versions of this name about it
of Davy Crockett on the market and.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Lose on the charts, believe it or not.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
One was by Walter Schumann, one was by the Great Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Ernie Ford.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
One was by the best Parker, but you knew that
already because he started the movie the fourth You get
extra extra credit lanyap on top of lanyap if you
knew that it's Bill Hayes.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
His has went to number one.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
And uh. I love the story of David Crockett, but
not for the reason that you might think.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
My youngest son is named Crockett.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Crockett Marcos Berry Marcos one of his Ethiopian names. We
kept our children's Ethiopian names as part of their overall identity,
even though we gave them names that we chose as
their sort of Christian name, the name that they go by.
But Crockett was so named after a hero of mine.
(09:51):
We went by the name David Crockett, but legend has
him at Davy Crockett. I don't know that it matters today.
David Crockett who died at the Alamo, and as a child,
I was as inspired as I am today by the
men who fought at the Mission in San Antonio against
the Mexicans and died valiantly. Davy Crockett's a great story
(10:14):
because of the you may all go to Hell. I'm
going to Texas story he was. He was one of
the first, after Daniel Boone, one of the first true
American heroes for some reason other than being a president
(10:34):
or a general. He was Colonel David Crockett. But he
was a hero for his exploits. He once showed up
in New York at a Broadway musical about the exploits
of Davy Crockett. But the reason I adore his memory
in his legacy is more than all of those things,
(10:57):
although of course they add to them. It is a
story that's kind of Ron Paul in the telling, and
not many people like this, very few people. Indeed, it's
because of the speech he gave, and that speech came
to be known as not yours to give, not yours
to give. Say that out loud, because you're gonna want
(11:19):
to look this up, because most of you probably don't
know this story about David Crockett, because you think of
David Crockett as the legend and killed him a bar
when he was only three, and dying at the Alamo
and the Coonskin Cap and all those are wonderful aspects
to the legend of David Crockett.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
But while David Crockett was in Congress.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
There was a request for the widow of a celebrated
naval officer, and Congress was ready right there on the spot. Boom,
let's give her a bunch of money from the public treasury.
And David Crockett did something very brave. He stood on principle,
because surely with the old woman.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Here, are gonna.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Give some money out of the federal government. Federal government's
got it, and we're in charge of it. We're the appropriators.
That's what Congress does. So let's give her some money.
And there was quite the fervor. Yeah, let's give her
some money. It's the people's money. Who cares, and we'd
give it to her. We'll look like stars and Davy Crockett,
Colonel Crockett stood up and said, I have as much
respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much
(12:22):
sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be,
as any.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Man in this house.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
But we must not permit our respect for the dead,
or our sympathy for a part of the living, to
lead us to an act of injustice to the.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Balance of the living. That means everybody else.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
I will not go into an argument to prove that
Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an
act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it.
We have the right as individuals to give away as
much of our own money as we please. In chair,
but as members of Congress, we have no right so
(13:04):
to appropriate a dollar of.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
The public money.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
We cannot, without the grossest corruption, appropriate this money as
the payment of a debt. We have not the semblance
of authority to appropriate it as a charity. Mister Speaker,
I have said we have the right to give as
much money of our own as we please. I am
the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for
(13:31):
this bill. But I will give one week's pay to
the object that's the widow, And if every member of
Congress will do the same, it will amount to more
than the bill asks. He then went on to say,
in quoting a constituent, the people have delegated to Congress
by the Constitution, the power to do certain things. To
do these, it is authorized to collect and pay monies,
(13:54):
and for nothing else. Everything beyond this is usurpation and
a violation of the Constitution. Now there is more to
this story, and it will require the next segment for
me to get to it. There is more to this
story than what David Crockett did. What he did, the
(14:15):
action he took was an act of courage, real courage.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
The reason he.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Did it is an act of incredible humility. And it
just goes to show that as we walk through this world,
we make mistakes.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
We all do. And it's not whether we make mistakes.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
We endeavor not to, but it is whether or not
we learn from them, whether we learn from the things
we do the mistakes we make. And Davy Crockett went
on to explain his vote, and I will read you
the rest of his speech where he does that it's
incredibly powerful. Well before we do that, I will say
(14:57):
that you will find many times that the greatest acts
of valor, and this is the part that I think
people miss are typically not celebrated by those around them.
People who stand on principle are typically not honored and
celebrated for standing on principle. When Ted Cruse went to
(15:17):
the United States Senate, I had worked very hard to
put him there, as did a lot of other people,
and when he got there, he would lose votes ninety
nine to one. Lindsey Graham said that there were members
in the Senate who wanted to murder him.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Send that into a hot microphone. There are senators who
wanted to murder him.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
And John McCain said, it tells you how popular he
is that he loses votes ninety nine to one. But
I went back and read those votes, and they were
issues that the Senate had rubber stamped. They were swamp
issues and the concept was as long as everybody hangs together,
we don't hang by ourselves. And so what Ted Cruz
(15:58):
was doing was making a name for himself with the
as It's constituency with Tea Party voters, which which became
Maga vote.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
But he wasn't very popular. He wasn't popular at all. Anyway,
I'll read you that letter coming.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Up Aptain something wong, Well, something must be right. You're
listening to Michael Berry, Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
So I told you that David Crockett, while the widow
had been brought forward before the Congress. Her husband, a
celebrated naval officer who had passed, and here she was
the widow and she wanted some money, and they said, oh, yes,
your husband was a great man. Let's let's write a
check from the Treasury to you, David Crockett said, you
(16:44):
can't do that. You don't have the power. We do
not have the power to appropriate charity. And by the way,
we can give charity of our own money.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
And I'll start.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
I'm the poorest fella in this Congress, and I'll give
a week of my pay, and if every one of
you will do the same, we'll give her more money
than you're trying to give her from the Treasury.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Well, as you might imagine, nobody joined him in that offer.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
But as I told you, that's not the fact that
he did such a principal thing is impressive.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
The fact of how he came to do.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
That, that's the story I think makes this really really special.
And I'll read to you from his speech, he said,
it's not during his speech. This was later he was
asked by a friend, why did you do that? My god,
(17:46):
everybody hated you for that, And he said, well, several
years ago, I was one evening standing on the steps
of the Capitol with some other members of Congress when
our attention was attracted by a great light over in Georgetown,
evidently a large fire. We jumped into a hack and
drove over as fast as we could, in spite of
(18:06):
all that could be done. In spite of all that
could be done, many houses were burned, and many families
made homeless. And besides, some of them had lost all
but the clothes they had on. The weather was very cold,
and when I saw so many women and children suffering,
I felt that something ought to be done for them.
The next morning a bill was introduced appropriating twenty thousand
dollars for their relief. We put aside all other business
(18:29):
and rushed it through as soon as.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
It could be done.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
The next summer, when it began to be time to
think about the election, I concluded I would not sorry.
I concluded I would take a scout around among the
boys of my district. I had no opposition there, but
as the election was some time off, I didn't know
what might turn up. When riding one day and a
part of my district in which I was more of
(18:52):
a stranger than any other, I saw a man in
a field plowing and coming toward the road. I gauged
my gate so that we should meet as he came
to the fence. As he came up, I spoke to
the man. He replied politely, but as I thought rather coldly.
I began, well, friend, I'm one of those unfortunate beings
called candidates, and yes I know who you are, your
(19:15):
Colonel Crockett. I have seen you once before and voted
for you the last time you were elected. I suppose
you're out electioneering now, but you'd better not waste your
time or mine. I shall not vote for you again.
This was a sock dollarger. I begged him to tell
me what was the matter. Well, Colonel, it is hardly
worthwhile to waste time or words upon it. I do
(19:39):
not see how it can be mended. But you gave
a vote last winter, which shows that either you have
not capacity to understand the Constitution, or that you are wanting,
in the honesty and firmness to be guided by it.
In either case, you are not the man to represent me.
But I beg your pardon for expressing it that way.
I did not, atend intend to avail myself of the
(20:00):
privilege of the constituent to speak plainly to a candidate
for the purpose of insulting or wounding you. I intend,
by it only to say that you are understanding of
the Constitution is very different from mine, and I will
say to you what But for my rudeness, I should
not have said that.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
I believe you to be honest.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
But an understanding of the Constitution different from mine I
cannot overlook. Because the Constitution to be worth anything must
be held sacred and rigidly observed in all its provisions.
The man who wields power and misinterprets it is the
more dangerous, the more honest he is. I admit the
(20:41):
truth of all you say, but there must be some
mistake about it, for I do not remember that I
gave any vote last winter upon any constitutional question. No, colonel,
there's no mistake. Though I live here in the backwoods
and seldom go from home, I take the papers from
Washington and ready very carefully all the proceedings of Congress.
(21:02):
My papers say that last winter you voted for a
bill to appropriate twenty thousand dollars to some sufferers by
a fire in Georgetown.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Is that true?
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Well, my friend, I may as well own up. You
got me there, But certainly nobody will complain that a
great and rich country like ours should give the insignificant
sum of twenty thousand dollars to receive its suffering. To
relieve its suffering women and children, particularly with the full
and overflowing treasury. And I'm sure if you'd been there,
you would have done just as I did. It is
(21:35):
not the amount, Colonel, that I complain of. It is
the principle. In the first place, the government ought to
have in the treasury no more than enough for its
legitimate purposes.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
But that has nothing to do with the question.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
The power of collecting and dispersing money at pleasure is
the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man,
particularly under our system of collecting revenue by a tariff,
which reaches every man in the country, matter or how
poor he may be, And the poorer he is, the
more he pays in proportion to his means. What is worse,
it presses upon him without his knowledge where the weight centers.
(22:08):
For there is not a man in the United States
who can ever guess how much he pays to the government.
So you see that while you are contributing to relieve one,
you are drawing it from thousands who are even worse
off than he. If you had the right to give anything,
the amount was simply a matter of discretion with you,
and you had as much right to give twenty thousand
as twenty million. If you have the right to give
(22:31):
to one, you have the right to give to all.
And as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount,
you are at liberty to give it to any and
everything which you may believe or profess to believe, is
a charity. And to any amount you may think proper,
you will very easily perceive what a wide door that
would open for fraud and corruption and favoritism on the
(22:51):
one hand, and for robbing the people on the other. No, Colonel,
Congress has no right to give charity. Individual members may
give as much of their own money as they please,
but they have no right to touch a dollar of
the public money for that purpose. If twice as many
houses had been burned in this country, in this county,
as in Georgetown, neither you nor any other member of
Congress would have thought of appropriating a dollar for our relief.
(23:15):
There are about two hundred and forty members of Congress.
If they'd shown their sympathy for the sufferers by contributing
each one weeks each one's week's pay, it would have
made over thirteen thousand dollars. There are plenty of wealthy
men in and around Washington who would have given twenty
thousand without depriving themselves of even a luxury of life.
The congressmen chose to keep their own money, which, if
(23:36):
reports be true, some of them spend not very credibly.
And the people about Washington, no doubt applauded you for
relieving them from the necessity of giving by giving what
was not yours to give. The people have delegated to
Congress by the Constitution, the power to do certain things.
To do these, it is authorized to collect and pay moneies,
(23:57):
and for nothing else. Everything beyond them is usurpation and
a violation of the Constitution.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
So you see, colonel, you.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Violated the Constitution what I consider a vital point. It
is a precedent fraught with danger to the country, for
when Congress once begins to stretch its power beyond the
limits of the Constitution, there is no limit to it
and no security for the people. I have no doubt
you acted honestly, but that does not make it any better,
except as far as you are personally concerned. And you
(24:27):
see that I cannot vote for you. I'm going to
continue reading this, and it's going.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
To be in the podcast if you want to hear
the rest of the score.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
So otherwise, I think you get the point of why
he cast his next vote against the widow's money.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
I tell you, I felt street.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
I saw if I should have opposition, and this man
should go to talk, and he would set others to talking.
And in that district, I was a gone fawn skin.
I could not answer him. And the fact is I
was so fully convinced that he was right. I didn't
want to, but I must satisfy him. And I said
to him, well, my friend, you hit the nail upon
(25:23):
the head when you said I did not have sense
enough to understand the Constitution. I intended to be guided
by it, and thought I had studied it fully. I
have heard many speeches in Congress about the powers of Congress.
But what you have said here at your plow has
gotten me more hard sound sense in it than the
(25:45):
fine speeches.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
I have ever heard.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
If I had ever taken the view of it that
you have, I would have put my head into the
fire before I would have given that vote. And if
you will forgive me and vote for me again, if
I ever vote for another unconstitutional law.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
I wish I may be shot.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
He laughingly replied, Yes, colonel, you have sworn to that
once before. But I will trust you again upon one condition.
You say that you are convinced your vote was wrong.
Your acknowledgment of it will do more good than beating
you for it. If as you go around the district,
you will tell people about this vote and you are satisfied.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
It was wrong.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I will not only vote for you, but I will
do what I can to keep down opposition, and perhaps
I may exert some little influence in that way. If
I don't, said I, I wish I may be shot,
and to convince you that I am in earnest in
what I say, I will come back this way in
a week or ten days, and if you will get
up a gathering of the people, I will make a
(26:54):
speech to them. Get up a barbecue, and I will
pay for it. No, colonel, we are not rich people
in this section, but we have plenty of provisions to
contribute for a barbecue, and some to spare for those
who have none. The push of crops will be over
in a few days, and we can then afford a
day for a barbecue.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
This is Thursday. I will see to getting it up
on Saturday. Week.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Come to my house on Friday and we will go together.
And I promise you a very respectable crowd to see.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
And hear you well. I will be here.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
But one thing more before I say goodbye, I must
know your name. My name is Bunce, not Horatio Buns. Yes, well,
mister Bunce. I never saw you before, though you say
you have seen me. But I know you very well.
I am glad I've met you, and very proud that
(27:53):
I may hope to have you for my friend. It
was one of the luckiest hits of my life that
I met him. He mingled but little with the public,
but was widely known for his remarkable intelligence and incorruptible integrity,
and for a heart brimful and running over with kindness
and benevolence which showed themselves not only in words but
(28:14):
in acts. He was the oracle of the whole country
around him, and his fame had extended far beyond the
circle of his immediate acquaintance. Though I had never met
him before, I had heard much of him. And but
for this meeting, it is likely I should have had
opposition and had been beaten. One thing is very certain.
No man could now stand up in that district under.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
Such a vote.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
At the appointed time, I was at his house, having
told our conversation to every crowd i'd met and every
man I stayed all night with, And I found that
it gave the people an interest in a confidence in
me stronger than i'd ever seen manifested before. Though I
was considerably fatigued when I reached his house, and under
ordinary circumstances, should have gone early to bed, that I
(29:00):
kept him up until midnight talking about the principles and
affairs of government, and I got more real, true knowledge
of them than i'd got all my life before. I
have known and seen much of him since, for I
respect him, No, that is not the word. I reverence
and love him more than any living man. And I
go to see him two to three times every year.
(29:21):
And I will tell you if everyone who professes to
be a Christian lived and acted and enjoyed it as
he does, the religion of Christ would take the world
by storm. But to return to my story, the next
morning we went to the barbecue, and to my surprise,
found about a thousand men there. I met a good
many whom I had not known before, and they and
(29:44):
my friend introduced me around until I got pretty well acquainted.
At least they all knew me. In due time, notice
was given that I would speak to them. They gathered
up around a stand and had been that had been
erected for the occasion.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
I opened my speech.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
By saying, quote, Fellow citizens, I present vent myself to
you today, feeling like a new man. My eyes have
lately been open to truths with which ignorance, or prejudice,
or both had heretofore hidden from my view. I feel
that I can today offer you the ability to render
you more valuable service than I have ever been able
(30:18):
to render before. I am here today more for the
purpose of acknowledging my error than to seek your votes.
That I should make this acknowledgment is due to myself
as well as to you. Whether you will vote for
me is a matter for your consideration only. I went
on to tell them about the fire and my vote
for the appropriation, and then told them why I was
(30:40):
satisfied it was wrong. I closed by saying, and now,
fellow citizens, it remains only for me to tell you
that the most of the speech you have listened to
with so much interest was simply a repetition of the
arguments by which your neighbor, mister Buntz convinced me of
my error. It is the best speech I ever made
in my life life, but he is entitled to the
(31:02):
credit for it. And now I hope he is satisfied
with his convert and that he will get up here
and tell you. So. He came upon the stand and said,
fellow citizens, it affords me great pleasure to comply with
the request of Colonel Crockett. I have always considered him
a thoroughly honest man, and I am satisfied that he
(31:22):
will faithfully perform all that he has promised you. Today
he went down, and there went up from that crowd
such a shout for Davy Crockett, as his name never
called forth before. I am not much given to tears,
but I was taken with a choking then, and felt
(31:42):
some big drops rolling down my cheeks.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
And I tell you now.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
That the remembrance of these few words spoken by such
a man, and the honest, hearty shout they produced, is
worth more to me than all the honors I have
received and all the reputation I ever made or shall
ever make as a member of Congress. Now, Sir concluded Crockett.
You know why I made that speech.
Speaker 4 (32:07):
Today.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
There is one thing now to which I will call
your attention. You remember that I propose to give a
week's pay. There are in that house many very wealthy men,
men who think nothing is spending a week's pay, or
a dozen of them for a dinner or a wine party,
when they have something to accomplish by it. Some of
those same men made beautiful speeches upon the great debt
(32:29):
of gratitude which the country owed the deceased, a debt
which could not be paid by money, and the insignificance
and worthlessness of money, particularly so insignificant a sum is
ten thousand dollars when weighted against the honor.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Of our nation.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Yet not one of them responded to my proposition. Money
with them is nothing but trash when it is to
come out of the people. But it is the one
great thing for which most of them are striving, and
many of them sacrifice honor, integrity, and justice to obtain it.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
And that, my family, is why I name my son
crock Ladies and gentlemen, all this nas left for gilding.
Thank you, and good night.
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