discussion 3
please let me know what option you have picked! (200 words)
and you have to make a short respond (75 words) to my classmate, please note that the response of my classmate will only appear when I post your work on it.
Thank you!
The Alamo & Davy Crockett: Fact vs. Myth, which is more important to people about their understanding of history?
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In Part Three of the Manifest Destiny lectures from this Module, you learned a bit about the Battle of the Alamo, in which a celebrity of the day, Davy Crockett, met his fate. Mountain Men of the 1800’ds through the 1850’s often played a significant role in American culture, as these individuals were often portrayed as rugged patriots who carried American ingenuity and individualism into the West. Lewis and Clark, Daniel Boone, Crockett, various gun-fighters of the West, and more, were all a part of this legacy that was based partially in fact and partially in myth. Stories of these explorers made it into newspapers, dime-store novels, plays, songs and more; each tale a bit more embellished than the last.
In this video, we see a Disney rendition of the end of the Battle of the Alamo, fought between Texas (rebels) and the Mexican army. This version of the Disney film (“Davy Crockett at the Alamo”) was based off the stories that came out after news of Crockett’s death at the Alamo spread in the 1830’s:
Note in this film how Crockett dies: is he the first or the last? How heroic did he look in the scene?
Now, take a look at this short news clip, where even in the modern era, the discussion of how Crockett died continues to be told. According to the interviews, how did Crockett probably die?
Discussion Topic:
Please PICK ONE topic, make a discussion post, and then respond constructively to two other posts; at least one of them being about the topic you did not do. Feel free to ask questions, respectfully challenge an assertion, encourage a thought process and extend it further, and so on. Just be civil and courteous! No modern politics, please.
Option 1. Why might Crockett being captured and executed instead of dying like he was portrayed in the first video be seen by some as undesirable in the Manifest Destiny Era, and even up through the 1970’s? What does that say about the image Americans had of their heroes at the time?
Option 2. Many Americans, from the 1830’s through today, will cling to the mythical story of Crockett dying heroically on the battlements of the Alamo, the last to die. Why might some cling to this belief, even after the evidence of Crockett dying as Video 2 shows came to light? Is it the job of the Historian to go to people who misunderstand the facts so much that their misconception shapes their view of themselves and their heritage and to try to convince them otherwise, or simply to provide the facts for those that wish to look? (This is a loaded questions, take it on the best you can, I’ll have some anecdotes for you in all this as we go along!)
