Lesson Six, April 11, 2001
The Purpose Of Government
Part 3
[All definitions included are mine - A.K. Pritchard]"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."
Congressman David Crockett
The Life of Colonel David Crockett
"NOT YOURS TO GIVE"
From:
The Life of Colonel David Crockett
Compiled by: Edward S. Ellis
Philadelphia, Porter & Coates, 1884One day in the United States house of Representatives, a bill was taken up
appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval
officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support. The
Speaker was just about to put the question when David Croquet arose:"Mr. Speaker -- I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and
as much sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering for the
sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this House,
but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part
of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the
living. 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 charity; but as members of Congress we have
no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money. Some eloquent
appeals have been made to us upon the ground that it is a debt due the
deceased. Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long after the close of the war;
he was in office to the day of his death, and I have never heard that the
government was in arrears to him.APPROPRIATE, To set apart for, or assign for a particular use, in exclusion
of all other uses; as, a spot of ground is appropriated for a garden.
[Websters 1828]MONEY, 1) Coin; stamped metal; any piece of metal, usually gold, silver or
copper, stamped by public authority, and used as the medium of commerece.
2) Bank notes or bills of credit issued by authority, and exchangeable for
coin or redeemable, are also called money; as such notes in modern times
represent coin, and are used as a substitute for it. If a man pays in hand
for goods in bank notes which are current, he is said to pay in ready
money. [Websters 1828]CHARITY, Liberality to the poor, consisting in almsgiving or benefactions
(Alms - Any thing given gratuitously to relive the poor, as money, food, or
clothing, otherwises called charity), or gratuitous services to relieve
them in distress. [Websters 1828]"Every man in the House knows it is not a debt. 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. Mr.
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 this
bill, but I will give one week's pay to the object, and if every member of
Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks."AUTHORITY, Legal power or a right to command or act; as the authority of a
prince over subjects, and of parents over children. Power; rule; sway.
[Websters 1828]He took his seat. Nobody replied. The bill was put upon its passage, and,
instead of passing unanimously, as was generally supposed, and as, no
doubt, it would, but for that speech, it received but few votes, and of
course, was lost.Later, when asked by a friend why he had opposed the appropriation,
Crockett gave this explanation:"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. It was evidently a large fire. We jumped
into a hack and drove over as fast as we could. In spite of all that could
be done, many house were burned and many families made houseless, 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 $20,000 for their relief. We put aside all
other business and rushed it through as soon as it could be done."The next summer, when it began to be time to think about the election, 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 did not know
what might turn up. When riding one day in a part of my district in which
I was more of a stranger than any other, I saw a man in a field plowing and
coming toward the road. I gauged my gait 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 am one of those unfortunate beings called
candidates and --'" 'Yes, I know you; you are Colonel Crockett. I have seen you once before,
and voted for you the last time you were elected. I suppose you are out
electioneering now, but you had better not waste your time or mine. I
shall not vote for you again.'"This was a sockdolager ... 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 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 wanting 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 in that way. I did not intend to avail myself of the
privilege of the constituent to speak plainly to a candidate for the
purpose of insulting or wounding you. I intended by it only to say that
your 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 I
believe you to be honest ... 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 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 read very
carefully all the proceedings of Congress. My papers say that last winter
you voted for a bill to appropriate $20,000 to some sufferers by a fire in
Georgetown. is that true?'"'Well, my friend; I may as well own up. You have got me there. But
certainly nobody will complain that a great and rich country like ours
should give the insignificant sum of $20,000 to relieve its suffering women
and children, particularly with a full and overflowing Treasury, and I am
sure, if you had been there, you would have done just as I did.'" 'It is 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. But that has nothing to do with
the question. The power of collecting and disbursing 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, no matter 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, 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 your 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 $2,000,000 as $20,000. If you have the right
to give 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 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 this would open for fraud and corruption and
favoritism, on 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 county as in Georgetown, neither you nor any other
member of Congress would have thought of appropriating a dollar for our
relief. There are about two hundred and forty members of Congress. If
they had shown their sympathy for the sufferers by contributing each one
week's pay, it would have made over $13,000. There are plenty of wealthy
men in and around Washington who could have given $20,000 without depriving
themselves of even a luxury of life. The congressmen chose to keep their
own money, which, if reports be true, some of them spend not very
creditably; 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 moneys, and for nothing else. Everything beyond this is usurpation, and
a violation of the Constitution." 'So you see, Colonel, you have violated the Constitution in 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 see that
I cannot vote for you.'"I tell you I felt streaked. I saw if I should have opposition, and this
man should go talking, 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 did not want to. But I must satisfy
him, and I said to him:" 'Well, my friend, you hit the nail upon the head when you said I had not
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 got more hard sound sense in it than all the fine speeches I ever
heard. 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 I wish I may be shot.'"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 that 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 that your are satisfied it was wrong, I
will not only vote for you, but 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 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. This is Thursday; I will see to getting it up
on Saturday week. Come to my house on Friday, and we will go together, and
I promise you a very respectable crowd to see and hear you.'" 'Well, I will be here. But one thing more, before I say good-bye. I must
know your name.'" 'My name is Bunce.' " 'Not Horatio Bunce?' " 'Yes.'
" 'Well, Mr. Bunce, I never saw you before, though you say you have seen
me, but I know you very well. I am glad I have met you, and very proud
that 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 know 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 word but
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 very 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
such a vote."At the appointed time I was at his house, having told our conversation to
every crowd I had met, and to every man i stayed all night with, and I
found that it gave the people an interest and a confidence in me stronger
than I had ever seen manifested before."Though I was considerably fatigued when I reached his house, and under
ordinary circumstances, should have gone early to bed, I kept him up until
midnight, talking about the principles and affairs of government, and got
more real, true knowledge of them than I had got all my life before."I have know 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 or three times every year; and I will tell you, sir, if
every one 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 know before, and they and my friend introduced me around until I
had got pretty well acquainted -- at least, they knew me."In due time notice was given that I would speak to them. They gathered up
around a stand that had been erected. I opened my speech by saying:" 'Fellow-citizens -- I present myself before you today feeling like a new
man. My eyes have lately been opened to truths 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 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 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, Mr. Bunce, convinced me
of my error." 'It is the best speech I ever made in my life, but he is entitled to the
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 up on 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 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
some big drops rolling down my cheeks. And I tell you now that the
remembrance of those 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 have ever made, or ever shall make, as a member of
Congress."Now, sir," concluded Crockett, "you know why I made that speech yesterday.
"There is one thing now to which I will call your attention. You remember
that I proposed to give a week's pay. There are in that House many very
wealthy men -- men who think nothing of 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 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 as $10,000, when weighed against
the honor of the nation. 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."
Self Study Questions For Review
* These study guide suggestions are included especially for the benefit of
homeschooling students who may be using this course as a part of their
Civics study for high school credit.1- Define:
Appropriate
Money
Charity
Authority
2. Does our tax money belong to the Federal Government to use for any
purpose that they wish?
3- Reading the words of Congressman Crockett "I am the poorest man on this
floor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week's pay to the
object, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to
more than the bill asks." Do you think that he was against charity
altogether?4- True or False: The government has the authority to appropriate public
money for any purpose that they deem fit, including charity.
[Please do not return the answers to these questions, they are for
self-review only]
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