Not Yours to Give: Davy Crockett, Horatio Bunce, and the Lesson Congress Forgot

From The Craig Bushon Show Media Team

Davy Crockett thought he was doing the right thing when he voted to give taxpayer money for charity. But back home, a Tennessee farmer named Horatio Bunce set him straight with just six words that shook Crockett—and still speak to America today. Find out why this forgotten exchange exposes Congress’s biggest lie about “compassion.”

When Americans talk about Davy Crockett, they usually picture the frontiersman, the rifle, and the Alamo. But before he became a Texas legend, Crockett was a U.S. Congressman from Tennessee. And it was in Washington, not San Antonio, where he learned one of the hardest lessons about liberty—a lesson taught to him by a plainspoken farmer named Horatio Bunce.

This story, remembered as “Not Yours to Give”, is one of the clearest examples of constitutional principle ever put to words. It is also one of the sharpest warnings for our own time, when Congress seems to believe it can spend without limits, tax without shame, and redistribute without hesitation.

The Georgetown Fire and Crockett’s Mistake

Crockett had just been elected to Congress when disaster struck in Georgetown, near Washington, D.C. A massive fire destroyed homes, leaving families destitute. In an emotional response, Congress proposed to give $20,000 in federal aid. Crockett voted yes.

On its face, it looked like compassion. But in reality, it was something else entirely: Congress taking money from taxpayers to give to others, outside the bounds of its constitutional authority.

The Confrontation with Horatio Bunce

Later, while campaigning for re-election back in Tennessee, Crockett met Horatio Bunce, a respected farmer who had influence in the district. Bunce was polite but firm. He told Crockett that he could not vote for him again because of his vote on the Georgetown relief bill.

Crockett was stunned. He thought surely people would admire his generosity. But Bunce cut through the sentimentality with one of the most powerful rebukes ever spoken to a lawmaker:

“It is not yours to give.”

Bunce explained that while Crockett and every Congressman had the personal right to donate their own money to charity, they had no authority under the Constitution to give away the people’s money for causes—no matter how noble.

“The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure,” Bunce said, “is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man. You cannot legislate charity. If you do, you will rob one man to benefit another.”

Crockett’s Awakening

Crockett admitted Bunce was right. He had acted out of impulse and emotion, but not according to the Constitution. From that day forward, he swore never again to vote for a bill that appropriated money for charity.

Later, addressing his colleagues in Congress, Crockett explained his new conviction:

“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 so to appropriate a dollar of the public money.”

This was the moment Crockett shifted from a man of action to a man of principle.

Why This Matters Today

The story of Crockett and Bunce is not just a charming anecdote from the 1800s. It is a direct challenge to today’s political culture. If Horatio Bunce were alive now, he would see Congress handing out billions of dollars for programs, bailouts, foreign aid, and entitlements—none of which are authorized in the Constitution.

Today, the national debt towers over $35 trillion. Yet politicians tell us there is always enough money for pet projects, corporate bailouts, and foreign wars. Where does it come from? Not from them. From you—the taxpayer.

Bunce’s point still stands: Congress cannot be charitable with someone else’s money. If a cause is worthy, Americans are free to give voluntarily. But when Congress writes checks from the Treasury for compassion’s sake, it crosses into theft dressed up as generosity.

The Craig Bushon Show Media Team Perspective

This story is about more than Crockett or Bunce. It’s about the soul of the Republic.

Davy Crockett’s mistake mirrors what we see daily in Washington: good intentions masking unconstitutional action. The Bushon perspective is clear—America does not need more politicians who treat the federal Treasury like a charity fund. We need leaders who understand that compassion and charity are virtues of citizens, not powers of Congress.

Bunce, a Tennessee farmer, spoke more constitutional truth in a single sentence—“It is not yours to give”—than most members of Congress have spoken in their entire careers.

That principle is the foundation of limited government. Without it, we slide into tyranny masked as benevolence, where politicians buy votes with your dollars, and freedom erodes under the weight of “good intentions.”

Closing Thought

Davy Crockett learned his lesson the hard way. America must learn it again. As citizens, we must demand that Congress respect its limits. And as individuals, we must embrace our personal responsibility for charity, for compassion, and for community.

Because Horatio Bunce was right then—and he is right now:

It is not theirs to give. It is ours to defend.

Disclosure: The story of Davy Crockett and Horatio Bunce, often known as “Not Yours to Give,” has been passed down through historical writings and popular accounts. While the exact details of the dialogue are debated by historians, the principle it conveys reflects a longstanding constitutional argument about the limits of federal power and the role of individual responsibility. The Craig Bushon Show Media Team presents it here as an educational and political perspective, not as a verbatim transcript.