“In the early 1800’s Congress was considering a bill to give tax dollars to the widow of a well-loved military officer. Davy Crockett rose to address Congress after many speeches advocating the allocation.
He said: “Mr. Speaker…. 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 to so appropriate a dollar of the public money. We have no…. authority to appropriate it as a charity. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week’s pay, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks.”
There was silence on the floor of the House as Crockett took his seat. When the bill was put to a vote, instead of passing unanimously as had been expected, it received only a few votes.
The next day a friend asked Crockett why he spoken against a bill for such a worthy cause. In reply, Crockett related the following story: Just a few years before, he had voted to spend $20,000.00 of public money to help the victims of a fire in Georgetown. When the legislative session was over, Crockett made a trip back home to campaign for his re-election. He encountered one of his constituents. The man told Crockett, “I voted for you the last time. I shall not vote for you again.” Crockett, feeling he had served his constituents well, was stunned. He inquired as to what he had done wrong.
The man replied, “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. “
Thank you for posting that story.
Good post.
Good post.