 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
American Hero: The Alamo, 1836
Student Assignment
Before this lesson, have students complete the Student Reading and view the Video Clip from The History Channel documentary, Boone and Crockett: The Hunter Heroes, in the corresponding Students Section of this Web site.
Classroom Activity
Within weeks of the fall of the Alamo in 1836, reports of Crockett's death appeared in American newspapers. Since the 19th century, dozens of historians and authors have described how Crockett died at the Alamo. Some authors used contemporary accounts, which were previously published. Have students examine the following descriptions, and identify how each author describes Crockett's death. Students will judge each account according to how they would place it on a spectrum of historical proof, from impossible and possible to probable and absolute certainty. For more descriptions of how Crockett died at the Alamo, refer to William Chemerka's book, The Davy Crockett Almanac and Book of Lists. View and print the corresponding Classroom Worksheet.
1. Leonora Bennett, Historical Sketch and Guide to the Alamo (1904)
"Crockett was among the last to die. His 'Betsy' made many a Mexican rue the day he had found the army, and when there was no more time to load, he clubbed many a foes to death with his gun before he finally succumbed, his body bullet-ridden for minutes before he gave up the struggle."
2. Karl Dennis, Glorious Defiance: Last Stands Throughout History (1990)
"[A Mexican soldier] dealt him a deadly blow with his sword ...and in an instant he was pierced by no less than twenty bayonets."
3. T.R. Fehrenbach, Lone Star: A History of Texas and Texans (1968)
"Mexican accounts say, probably accurately, that a few defenders vainly attempted to surrender. These, who may have included Crockett, were shot."
4. José Enrique de la Peña, With Santa Anna in Texas (1838 trans. in 1975)
"Some seven men had survived the general carnage.... Among them was...David Crockett. Santa Anna...ordered his execution...several officers...thrust themselves forward... and with swords in hand, fell upon these unfortunate defenseless men..."
5. Robert Penn Warren, Remember the Alamo! (1958)
"[Crockett] seized his rifle in his left hand and leaped to the middle of the room for space to swing it. But he was now open for a Mexican volley, and fell."
Discussion
Historian James A. Shackford said in his 1956 book, David Crockett: The Man and the Legend, that "too much has been made over the details of how Davy died at the Alamo. Such details are not important. What is important is that he died as he had lived." Ask students to analyze this statement, using evidence from the written descriptions and from the relevant clip of The History Channel documentary. (Be sure students have viewed the Video Clip, which depicts Crockett's death, in the corresponding Students Section of this Web site.)
Email the Experts
After this lesson, ask students to submit questions that they would like to ask the experts. Their questions might be about a specific event, legend, or artifact. Before, during, or immediately after the live Webcast, Email the Experts the most thoughtful or most frequently asked questions.
Extended Activities
1. Have students write a short essay that identifies and explains why Texas revolted from Mexico in 1835, and why Crockett joined the Texas Revolution. Students can begin by researching the following topics in the Handbook of Texas Online: Declaration of the People of Texas, Texas Declaration of Independence, Samuel Houston and Stephen F. Austin.
2. Ask students to create a map tracing Crockett's journey from Tennessee to Texas in 1835, using the description of the journey included in the Student Reading in the corresponding Students Section of this Web site. This description was provided by the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum from its exhibit, Sunrise in His Pocket: The Life, Legend and Legacy of Davy Crockett.
Standards TEKS for Social Studies:
6th Grade: 21A-E, 22A-E
7th Grade: 1A-C; 2C; 3A-B; 8A; 9A; 17C; 21A-G; 22A-D
8th Grade: 6B; 23B; 30A-G
National Standards for U.S. History:
Historical Thinking Standards 1A-E; 2A-F, H; 3A-B, E, G-H; 4 A-D; 5A-G for Era 4, Standard 1C
WEBCAST | TEACHERS | STUDENTS | PARTNERS | CREDITS