I would rather be beaten and be a man than to be elected and be a little puppy dog. I have always supported measures and principles and not men. I have acted fearless[ly] and independent and I never will regret my course. I would rather be politically buried than to be hypocritically immortalized." - Meaning and context.">
In a letter following his defeat in the 1830 elections, as quoted in David Crockett: The Man and the Legend (1994) by James Atkins Shackford, p. 133

I would rather be beaten and be a man than to be elected and be a little puppy dog. I have always supported measures and principles and not men. I have acted fearless[ly] and independent and I never will regret my course. I would rather be politically buried than to be hypocritically immortalized.

— Davy Crockett

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I would rather be beaten and be a man than to be elected and be a little puppy dog. I have always supported measures and principles and not men. I have acted fearless[ly] and independent and I never will regret my course. I would rather be politically buried than to be hypocritically immortalized." in the context of "In a letter following his defeat in the 1830 elections, as quoted in David Crockett: The Man and the Legend (1994) by James Atkins Shackford, p. 133" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Davy Crockett" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Davy Crockett

About Davy Crockett

David Crockett (17 August 1786 – 6 March 1836), usually referred to as Davy Crockett, was an American frontiersman, soldier and politician. After serving as a US Congressman for the state of Tennessee, he joined in the Texas Revolution and died in the Battle of the Alamo.