The Whigs Nominate David Crockett for President in 1832

Famous frontiersman and Tennessee Congressman Davy Crockett was originally a supporter of President Andrew Jackson, but broke with him in 1831 over Jackson's Indian Removal Act. During the course of this affair he made a very eloquent speech on the floor of Congress which catapulted him into the national spotlight, just as the country got ready for a new Presidential election in 1832. Andrew Jackson, of course, did not take kindly to Crockett's opposition of his Indian program, and managed to get him kicked out of the Democratic Party.

What if the Whig Party had taken advantage of this to recruit Crockett to run against Jackson in 1832? Could Crockett have mounted a serious challenge to Jackson?

Supposing Crockett wins, what kind of President does he make?
 
Well in order to have Crockett run for the Whigs I'd wager that he'd have to get through Henry Clay, however there were many within the Whig Party that thought that Clay should sit out 1832 and wait until the end of Jackson's term to run for President in his own right. Supposing he listens, I'd wager that Crockett would be a natural choice to run against Andrew Jackson.

I have a feeling that TTL's race between Andrew Jackson and Davy Crockett would be very much like OTL's Election of 1904. Both men seem to be (at least on paper) cut from the same cloth and equally capable, hell, they even come from the same state. The Whig strategy of portraying Jackson as a tyrant might come off better with Crockett at the helm. However I think with Jackson at the height of his popularity Crockett's going to fall short.

Then again, Andrew Jackson wasn't the healthiest man. Say he dies during 1832, after Davy Crockett has been nominated. Martin Van Buren takes over as Acting President and wins the Democratic nomination for the upcoming elections. Crockett appeals to much of the south and west and his Whig ties win him much of the North East giving him the election.

I could see President Crockett intervening in Texas earlier than OTL...
 
My knowledge of Davy Crockett doesn't extend much beyond the Disney film, but he sounds like presidential material. I'd quite like to see an extra couple of verses of the Ballad covering his time in the White House.

I could see President Crockett intervening in Texas earlier than OTL...

Would Crockett perhaps interve during the Revolution itself? Before the Alamo even? Without the Alamo, the Texan identity might be rather less pronounced.

His good (comparatively) relationship with Native Americans is well known. Were his views on slavery anything special?
 
Well in order to have Crockett run for the Whigs I'd wager that he'd have to get through Henry Clay, however there were many within the Whig Party that thought that Clay should sit out 1832 and wait until the end of Jackson's term to run for President in his own right. Supposing he listens, I'd wager that Crockett would be a natural choice to run against Andrew Jackson.

I agree. The POD would require Henry Clay to put aside his personal ambitions for the sake of the party. Perhaps thinking that, once Crockett is elected, he can "pull strings from behind the throne," so to speak.

I have a feeling that TTL's race between Andrew Jackson and Davy Crockett would be very much like OTL's Election of 1904. Both men seem to be (at least on paper) cut from the same cloth and equally capable, hell, they even come from the same state. The Whig strategy of portraying Jackson as a tyrant might come off better with Crockett at the helm. However I think with Jackson at the height of his popularity Crockett's going to fall short.

It would definitely be a tough race for Crockett. But Crockett could point out which of them are really the champions of the COMMON MAN...Jackson, the big, rich plantation owner who opposes selling federal lands to anyone who does not already own property, or Crockett, the real backwoodsman and champion of squatter's rights? It would be an interesting race to watch, no doubt about it.

Then again, Andrew Jackson wasn't the healthiest man. Say he dies during 1832, after Davy Crockett has been nominated. Martin Van Buren takes over as Acting President and wins the Democratic nomination for the upcoming elections. Crockett appeals to much of the south and west and his Whig ties win him much of the North East giving him the election.

That could work too, although less interesting than a direct contest between Jackson and Crockett.

I could see President Crockett intervening in Texas earlier than OTL...

Possibly...
 
My knowledge of Davy Crockett doesn't extend much beyond the Disney film, but he sounds like presidential material. I'd quite like to see an extra couple of verses of the Ballad covering his time in the White House.

Why don't you write some? I once wrote a new version of the "Daniel Boone" theme for a timeline I wrote where Daniel Boone's nephew ran for President. It might be entertaining...

Would Crockett perhaps interve during the Revolution itself? Before the Alamo even? Without the Alamo, the Texan identity might be rather less pronounced.

I'm not sure about the Texan intervention thing. Contrary to popular belief, Crockett was not an especially warlike man. And I think that he will be too engulfed in the task of running the U.S. to be much interested in intervening in Texas.

His good (comparatively) relationship with Native Americans is well known. Were his views on slavery anything special?

Not sure if there is any evidence, one way or another. I haven't found evidence that he ever owned a slave, but he wasn't generally successful in business anyway during his lifetime, so it could be he could never afford one.
 
Is there a possibility of once Crockett becoming president, that he abrogates the Indian Removal Act? Brings the Indians back to their homes? Or would it be not be feasible by 1833? Could we safely say that the Second Seminole War is butterflied away? I'm very interested!
 
Though I doubt that Crockett would be able to undo all of the Indian Removal Act, the more I look at it the more I think that Crockett might actually be able to pull off an upset in the 1832 election...

From what I've been reading Jackson's dominance of the South in OTL's election was more due to the fact that Henry Clay was incredibly unpopular there rather than his own popularity. Unlike Clay who attracted no support from the south in his presidential bid, Crockett would succeed where Clay failed. He might even attract the support of John Floyd and the other nullifiers and perhaps pick up some states in the south. However his opposition to Indian Removal might cancel out his support for state's rights as would his party positions. Most definitely, the Whig Campaign of lambasting Jackson as "King Andrew" would be much more effective. Add to this perhaps more disunity over a VP pick and there might just be enough to give Crockett the win. Who knows maybe Crockett manages to co-opt the Anti-Masonic Party, Nullifiers, and Discontented Democrats into an Anti-Jacksonian Alliance?

Who would he pick as his VP? If he picks John Floyd he'd attract nullifier votes in the south but risks losing his base in the north. If he picks Clay he's screwed, and if he picks a New Englander he runs the risk of not picking up any southern votes. Any Ideas?

Assuming he wins he'd be the youngest President ever elected at 45. Given Henry Clay's power within the party I'd expect that he'd be made Secretary of State if he's not given the VP.

Regarding Indian Removal, I think Crockett would try to secure a better deal for the natives, avoiding some, but not all, of the Trail of Tears. The Second Seminole War is almost certainly avoided and I'd expect new treaties to be signed with the Native Americans in order to secure their current lands.

Fast forward a bit and I could see Crockett's star begin to fade in the the south. Perhaps he looks towards Texas as an attempt to curry favour with the south and intervenes in the Texan Revolution? The War ends up straddling the Election of 1836 in which Crockett in all likelihood defeats Jackson and wins a second term.
 
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