WILL TANNER: One thing that is self-destructive about the glorification of the cowboy as the personification of the American spirit, rather than the George Washington or Andrew Jackson-like frontier planter, is that the myth of the cowboy helped create the bureaucracy those cowboys despised.

One thing that is self-destructive about the glorification of the cowboy as the personification of the American spirit, rather than the George Washington or Andrew Jackson-like frontier planter, is that the myth of the cowboy helped create the bureaucracy those cowboys despised Washington, Madison, Jefferson and Monroe, like Jackson and Polk, held office as a duty that their wealth supported. They were great men close to the frontier and accustomed to its rigors--Washington most of all, like Jackson later--but they also understood that they had a duty to lead as gentlemen once they were wealthy For a time, that was the ultimate American, the blend of frontier courage and patrician bearing That faded away into the cult of the cowboy, and the ideal American became the loner who owed nobody anything Naturally, that meant that the duty part of the equation went unfilled and the bureaucrats took over. Then they regulated the cowboy out of existence

— Will Tanner (@Will_Tanner_1) November 14, 2026

One thing that is self-destructive about the glorification of the cowboy as the personification of the American spirit, rather than the George Washington or Andrew Jackson-like frontier planter, is that the myth of the cowboy helped create the bureaucracy those cowboys despised. Washington, Madison, Jefferson and Monroe, like Jackson and Polk, held office as a duty that their wealth supported. They were great men close to the frontier and accustomed to its rigors--Washington most of all, like Jackson later--but they also understood that they had a duty to lead as gentlemen once they were wealthy. For a time, that was the ultimate American, the blend of frontier courage and patrician bearing. That faded away into the cult of the cowboy, and the ideal American became the loner who owed nobody anything.

Naturally, that meant that the duty part of the equation went unfilled and the bureaucrats took over. Then they regulated the cowboy out of existence.