Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier, a film by Walt Disney Studios, created a “Crockett craze” in the 1950’s. As Mark Derr notes, across the country, “children daily died and rose again from the carnage of their Indian wars, the ruins of their private Alamos.” Davy Crockett’s life was one that was highly exaggerated, even in his own autobiography. Richard Boyd Hauck wrote that to a creative autobiographer, “history is synonymous with the word story.” This makes it impossible to know the true life of Davy Crockett, but the truth was what people believed. It is interesting that Disney chose to make a film about a character that already falsified his own life. It seems that Disney is not interested in correctly depicting history, but only …show more content…
interested in creating one that suits his purposes. Crockett exaggerates his own life and his actions, but part of the reason that Davy Crockett was so popular during the 1950’s was that his stories were like fables and by believing in them the fantasy would become real. Crockett was a true frontiersman and in a sense, a true American. He is willing to fight for his country and even runs for Congress. He’s rugged, brave, knows the back roads of the forest, and is able to kill raccoons just by grinnin’ at them. I chose to analyze the scene in which George, Crockett’s sidekick, gets into trouble while hunting Indians.
George gets tied up and brought to Red Stick. Right before George is about to be burned alive, Crockett comes to the rescue. He manages to talk to Red Stick and get him to sign a treaty with the other chiefs and end the war. This scene shows events that are highly unlikely to occur. Crockett fights Red Stick, saying that they will fight according to “Injun law”. When Crockett is trapped against a tree, he attempts to grin at Red Stick and scare him off, which fails. Crockett then comments, “Well, it worked on a b’ar” , which shows that Crockett thinks of the Native Americans as animals who can be tamed by just a grin. Crockett wins the fight and makes Red Stick listen to reason, by signing a treaty that will most likely be worthless in the future. Although Davy Crockett, the honest and righteous man, tells Red Stick that he will be able to “live in peace on [his] own land,” history shows that Americans did not keep their promises and eventually took over almost all of Native Americans’ land. It is an incomplete representation of what really happened because even though Davy Crockett made promises to the Native Americans, he had no authority to make it really happen. The scene presents inaccurate information to the young children watching the film, buying the merchandise, and pretending to be Davy …show more content…
Crockett. It also seems strange that Red Stick would trust Davy Crocket so quickly when two seconds prior Crockett was ready to put an ax through his head. When Crockett tried to get Red Stick to sign a treaty, Red Stick even refused, replying that the government lies, but Crockett said that he does not lie and Red Stick believed him. It portrays Native Americans as easily swayed brutes who will only listen to those who are stronger than them, able to beat them using “Injun law”. I think that this scene and the entire movie distorted history and it is not acceptable, especially since it was a movie that children and adults both obsessed over. Many wished to be Davy Crockett, the brave frontiersman who was bold and daring. Davy Crockett knew Indians better than anyone else and he was the only one able to interact with them. I think that although Crockett was a hero revered for fighting Indians, he is not a good role model. He was not a family man, never at home, and in one of the first scenes, Crockett tells George that he can get a kiss from Mrs. Crockett for saving his life. The line itself is a crude remark, but when George actually comes back to Davy’s home and kisses Mrs. Crockett, Davy is not fazed in the slightest. Davy Crockett also portrays women in a bad light by treating them as objects, or in this case a simple reward. Mrs. Crockett is also not offended by this action and she brushes it off. She is portrayed as just constantly waiting for Davy’s return from war and does not have any other meaning to her life. The movie distorts history greatly and the character of Davy Crockett is one that should not have been advertised as a role model for children to follow. In a different Disney movie, Johnny Tremain, the ideas of patriotism and bravery are also displayed. Johnny Tremain, a film about the life of a fictional boy at the start of the American Revolution, was adapted from a novel by Esther Forbes. Johnny Tremain was an apprentice to a silversmith and superior in talent to the rest, a fact that Johnny is aware of. When Johnny burns his hand and is unable to continue his apprenticeship, he feels hopeless, as he cannot find any work with his bad hand. He then finds Rab, a friend who introduces him to the Sons of Liberty. Johnny Tremain is the story of spirited youths fighting for their liberty during the American Revolution, but it can be applied to any period of time throughout history. Walt Disney created the film Johnny Tremain during 1957 in the midst of the Cold War.
The film changes many things from the novel, including the death of Rab. Disney’s movie romanticizes the events that occurred during the Boston Tea Party, adding a scene where the Sons of Liberty go to the Liberty Tree to sing and put lights on the tree. George Hewes, an eyewitness to the events says that the Sons of Liberty had just gone back to their homes after throwing tea into the Boston Harbor as not to draw attention to themselves and get jailed for their actions. These acts could have been punishable for vandalism and trespassing, but Disney does not portray the events after the Boston Tea Party as it really happened. Disney also makes a point to show that there was unity behind the cause, that everyone on the ships was fighting for liberation and not for their own selfish reasons. In an eyewitness account from George Hewes of the Boston Tea Party, he recalls, “[An] attempt was made to save a little tea from the ruins of the cargo by a tall, aged man…He had sleightly slipped a little into his pocket, but being detected, they seized him and, taking his hat and wig from his head, threw them, together with the tea, of which they had emptied his pockets, into the
water.” This scene shows that the participants did not try to hide their identities or their actions since the Sons of Liberty walked through the town and pulled people out from their houses to join in the singing. I think that there are two reasons for the addition of this scene into the film. One reason is to create a catchy song in hopes of a craze such as the Davy Crockett song and the other is to show that the participants are patriotic and passionate about their cause. If they had just gone back into their homes, it would be an anticlimactic ending to what became an important historic event. Although this scene is fabricated and is a clear distortion of history, I think that it a good scene to follow the dumping of the tea. I also think that Disney included this scene to show that the unity of the participants for the cause, unity for democracy and the capitalist society of the United States, especially since the movie was made during the Cold War. I think that although this scene distorts history, the movie is well done and leaves the audience feeling patriotic and ready to fight for liberty. While Johnny Tremain rallies support for democracy and liberty, Johnny Shiloh attempts to invoke the same feelings but fails to do so in part due to the subject at hand, which was the Civil War, a war in which a country fought against itself.
McKee next examines the racial traits of the Ulster's that Davy Crockett is said to have had. The Ulster-Scotts claimed the "spirit of aggression" and "energy" were Ulster exclusive traits that Davy possessed. (McKee "Davy Crockett: The Man and the Legend" 5). Mr. McKee was right to point out that these traits are hardly exclusive to any given race. As Mr. McKee says, the French and the Spanish could just as easily claim these traits as their own, since these traits motivated a great many of their conquests. The rest of the Ulster-Scotts claims about Davy's racial identity are just as nonexistent. Paraphasing a qoute that Mr. McKee cites from A.K Moore, the Ulsters claim that obstacles make warlike men try and conquer that obstacle, which is just as flimsy as their other numerous racially exclusive traits .No one trait can be claimed by any one group of people and on this principle alone it becomes clear that Davy is not racially connected to the Ulster-Scotts.
The soldiers were trialed for murdered but were found innocent. Afterwards, a group of men formed named The Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty lead protest in Boston. A key event leading to the revolution was the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party was a protest lead by the Sons of Liberty. The group of men dumped the imported tea and further eroded the relations with Britain. After the Boston Tea Party, the colonist refused to drink British tea. As stated in Tom Gage’s Proclamation, “Whereas the rebels hereabout, Are stubborn still, and still hold out; Refusing yet to drink their tea, In spite of Parliament and me” Furthermore, the British were becoming annoyed by the colonists actions. Therefore, the British passed the Intolerable Acts. The Intolerable Acts, as the name predicts, made the colonists furious. The British had passed the Intolerable Acts precisely to punish the Massachusetts colonist. The Acts consisted of the Massachusetts Bay closing, until tea was paid for, and a new Quartering Act, The new Quartering Act allowed British Troops to be stationed in private homes if necessary. Also, it gave power to the crown to elect all officials in
The Sons of Liberty answered the call. In an act of defiance, “a few dozen of the Sons of Liberty, opposing new British laws in the colonies, systematically dumped three shiploads of tea into Boston harbor. They acted to prevent the royal authorities from collecting taxes on that import” (Bell). This left Parliament infuriated. They did what they only knew how to do and put a tighter squeeze on the colonists.
By this point, the colonists were beginning to question Britain’s motives towards them. They believed they were being treated like slaves and being used solely for the economic growth of Britain. One night, in 1773, the colonists rebelled against these taxes on their tea. A group of men dressed as Native Americans boarded a ship at Boston Harbor and unloaded three vessels of taxed tea (Boston Tea Party). This event, known a...
Santa Anna’s army moved forward into Texas during the winter, unexpected by the Texans, who were ill prepared to face the Mexican Army at that time. Around 182 men decided to stay at the Alamo fortress to delay the Mexican Armies advance into the Texan’s soil. James “Jim” Bowie, William Barret “Buck” Travis, and Davy Crockett were among the most famous and influential individuals at the Alamo. Jim Bowie and Buck Travis assumed co-command of the men, while Davy Crockett wanted to be considered a “high” private. “The Mexican Army regarded these men as foreigners, but the colonists saw the Mexicans as invaders, and by the often unhappy logic of history, both parties were correct,” as T. R. Fehrenbach states, on page 191, in his novel, Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans.... ...
In The Alamo, David Crockett’s fate is most questionable within this film. Accounts such as the account of Francisco Antonio Ruiz, the mayor of San Antonio at the time, and Susana Dickinson, wife of one of the slain Texans, both state that David Crockett was not captured and executed but died in battle. Accounts argue back and forth about Crockett’s fate, and since other movies depicted Crockett dying in battle and not being a prisoner of war and publically executed, this sparked major controversy between multiple
A Persuasive Essay to end the Teaching of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in High School Curriculum
...he Revolutionary War should be deemed just as important as the war itself. The repeal of the Stamp Act of 1765 with the mob action towards Andrew Oliver and Thomas Hutchinson, the Boston Massacre propaganda of 1770, and the resistance movement of the Boston Tea Party were all events that inspired radical views and revolutionary change. These events were backed and played through by the use of mobs especially like men of the Sons of Liberty. In the end, these men weren’t just “a rabble of boys”, “disorderly sailors”, or “miscreants” nor just a motley crew who was purely destructive and mindless. Rather they were men who acted for the betterment and survival of a people; patriots. These mobs help drive the resistance of the British from idea to movement toward greater change. In other words, these men steered America toward resistance and finally toward revolution.
Instead they passed new acts which were worse than the ones passed before. As a result of the Tea Act, all the taxes except the tax on tea was repealed in order to keep Parliament’s right to tax the colonies, and the colonists did not like this act. As a result of their anger towards the British, the Boston Tea Party occurred: Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boarded three ships in the Boston Harbor and empty 342 chests of tea to the Boston. Still, the British kept on trying to control the Americans, but this time, they passed 4 acts, the Intolerable Acts, in order to punish and control people; The Boston Harbor would be closed, the people of Boston would have a curfew, Massachusetts would lose its self-government/town meetings, royal officers would be allowed to be tried in Britain, and the British troops would use empty buildings. Instead of giving Americans the freedom they wanted, the British punished them. Yet, this did not stop Americans. Instead, they were even angrier to the British for the strict rules the British was passing in order to control the colonists. They knew they had to do something, which resulted in continental congresses, the Articles of Confederation, and the American Revolution. The British was not going to stop trying to hold power over the colonies, and as Patrick Henry started off by saying “Caesar had his Brutus — Charles the first, his Cromwell — and George the third — ” and finished “may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it”(Wolverton, Joe, II). This was no longer of a fight against the British, but a fight to be
The men were really the Sons of Liberty led by Samuel Adams. The Sons of Liberty was a group who was formed to protest British taxation and to protect the rights of colonists. They started walking to the harbor that night in their disguises and more men joined them until the group had about 150 people. They walked to the ship and when one guard tried to stop them. A man in the group raised his gun and said, “The path is wide enough for all of us; we have nothing to do with you and intend you no harm-if you keep your own way peacefully we shall keep ours.” He was smart when he stepped aside. The men ordered the captain and the crew below and used their axes to open up the crates and throw the tea leaves into the harbor. Anyone who tried to steal the tea leaves instead of throwing it overboard was either beaten or tossed overboard. After the main event, some of the Sons of Liberty got in canoes and started batting down the leaves. They vowed to not eat fish from Boston harbor because they fish had been swimming through the tea.
George Hewes’ account of the Boston Tea party is considered a firsthand account of a historically significant event. The Boston Tea party took place the night of December 16, 1773 on three ships anchored in Boston Harbor. Hewes recounts the events leading up to the Boston Tea Party, the actual attack on the ships and its aftermath. He provides descriptive narration thus contributing to the historical context surround the Tea party. This event and many others leading up to it, provide a colorful backdrop on the eve of the American Revolution.
The French and Indian war, also better known as the seven year war, was in 1754. It all began in the early spring of 1754 through 1763, when George Washington and some 160 Virginians and hand full of Mingo Indians started to move when they were concerned about the French military presence in their county. The battle first started when a Mingo chief, the Indian leader that was with George Washington in his campaign, led a unit of soldiers into a small French encampment in the woods. It was a very small battle but, the fight ended up with 14 French men wounded. While Washington was trying to get all the available information from their French dying commander to help their plans in the war, the Indians killed and scalped the remaining survivors including the commander.
It also happened because the tax was a political move of the Parliament to claim control over the colonies. In light of the concept of agitation, it is clear that the Tea Party was a form of protest because the agitators did not like how the Parliament reasserts control. Although no one was hurt in this midnight raid, it sure did create a tension on the part of the Parliament. The physical presence of those who joined the raid tried to challenge the Tea Act of 1773. Although wasting a lot of tea should not be made a big deal, tea during that time was expensive and it has become a symbol of comfort by the colonists because they loved it. As such, the Boston Tea Party is significant because it showed that American colonists are very much willing to speak their freedom and exercise the same. Also, they are very willing to give up anything so that their right for independence is attained. Clearly, this is a form of lateral deviance because the agitators are very much willing to work outside the Parliament and in fact, colonists are ready for war. According to the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Tea Party led to the American Revolution on April 19, 1775 in Massachusetts. Accordingly, the participants of the midnight raid were not punished but one person who was remained anonymous was stripped and punished devastatingly. Klein asserts that more than 92, 000 pounds of tea were
John, Davy's father, moved to Greene County where Davy was born. While Davy was still in dresses, his father moved the family to Cove Creek in Greene County, Tennessee, where he built a mill in partnership with Thomas Galbreath. When Davy was eight years old, the mill was washed away with his home. After this disaster John Crockett removed his family to Jefferson County where he built and operated a log-cabin tavern on the Knoxville-Abingdon Road. (This cabin has been restored and is now located at Morristown, 30 miles Southwest of Greeneville.) The young Davy no doubt heard tales told by many a westbound traveler - tales which must have sparked his own desire for adventure in the great western territories. In his dealings with his father's customers, Davy must also have learned much about human nature and so refined his natural skills as a leader. While Davy lived there he spent four days at the school of Benjamin Kitchen. He had a fight with a boy at school and left home to escape a "licking" from his dad.
The actual time of the battle was short, its events often vague or at least varied depending on the narrator’s perspective, and the arena for the battle was that of a Roman-Catholic mission. For the Mexican people, the Alamo would eventually lead, though perhaps not directly, to the severe reduction of their country’s lands and open the door to the Mexican-American War. For the Americans, the epic tale of the Alamo’s events would forge myths, convert men into legends, and serve as t...