How can people judge the actions of their nation's past hero? There are two choices in deciding how we view a person, by the standards of the past or the present. One of the most important figures of the American nation's past, David Crockett, falls into this category. He lived a life of legend and myth. His story was revived and celebrated in the 1950s, but can he be seen as an American hero now? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay David Crockett was born on August 17, 1786 in Green County, eastern Tennessee. His parents were John and Rebecca Crockett. He grew up in a large family as the fifth of nine children. “His father's extreme poverty made him incapable of educating his children, and at a very young age David was put to work.” During these times, David's father employed him where he was taught to shoot a rifle, do odd jobs, and herd livestock at a young age. Once he returned home he would continue to attend school for only six months. The various skills that David learned during his youth on the Tennessee frontier would later help him become a popular figure during his time. David Crockett's military career began in 1813 when he enlisted as a "scout in Major John Gibson's militia." He joined the cause of revenge for the Creek Nation's attack on Fort Mims, Alabama. The War of 1812 was fought at the same time as the Creek War. David Crockett's primary duties during the Creek War were to forcibly remove Indians from the Florida swamps. General Andrew Jackson requested the support of the Tennessee militia to help remove British forces from Spanish Florida. In 1814, the Treaty of Fort Jackson ended the Creek War with the Creeks surrendering twenty-one million acres of territory to the American government. After his duties were completed in both the War of 1812 and the Creek War, Crockett was discharged as a fourth sergeant from the army in 1815. These events in Crockett's military career would make an everlasting impression on Native American issues and by Andrew Jackson. .Crockett continued his political and military career. In 1815 he was elected lieutenant in the Thirty-second Regiment of Franklin County Militia. He became justice of the peace in 1817. In 1818 he was elected colonel of the Fifty-seventh Regiment of Militia and also city commissioner of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. In 1821 he resigned as commissioner of Lawrenceburg to run for the House of Representatives. . He won the race and was elected representative of Lawrence and Hickman counties in Tennessee. During this period of his career he was very interested in the public land politics of wild West Tennessee. He introduced bills with the main objective of helping landowners occupying the west. His position on the mainland in the West would be one of his main platforms for the rest of his life as a public servant. In 1825 he lost his first bid for Congress. In 1826 David Crockett returned to his private practice. In 1827, David Crockett won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was re-elected in 1829. At that time, he openly disagreed with President Andrew Jackson and the Tennessee delegation on many topics. These topics were specifically land reform and the Indian Removal Bill. By this time, David had achieved “notoriety with the authorship of several works: “Exploits in Texas,” “Tour Down East,” “A Narrative of the Life of David,.