The Life of Colonel David Crockett (1884) by Edward Sylvester Ellis, recorded Tennessee Congressman Davy Crockett’s address to Congress after a request was made for public money to be dispensed to the needy.
In a speech titled “Not Yours to Give,” Crockett stated:
“Congress has not the power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member on this floor knows it …
… I will give one week’s pay to the object, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks …
… 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 to appropriate a dollar of the public money.”