LIFE AND BACKGROUND

James Polk...

• Was born on November 2, 1795 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
• At the age of ten he moved to Tennessee to be with his grandfather.
• Suffered from gallstone infection growing up.
• Came from a decent family, owning thousands of acres and more than 50 slaves.
• Brought up religiously -Presbyterian.
• Graduated in 1818 with honors from the University of North Carolina where he studied law.
• Severed in the House of Representatives for seven years.
• Was an ally and a supporter of Andrew Jackson, who he became great friends with.
• Married to Sarah Childress on January 1, 1824.
• 11th president of the United States.
• Retired presidency after a single term.
• Often referred to as the first "dark horse" President.
• Followed Jackson's support of the"common man".
• Went into a unpopular war with Mexico during Presidency.
• Died on June 15, 1849 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Polk's wife, Sarah Childress

ELECTION

Polk attended the 1844 Democratic Party convention in supporting of President Martin Van Buren. During this convention he was said to be nominated as a vice-president... but instead he received one delegate vote for presidential nomination during the eighth round. He ended up winning the nomination with 233 votes making him the first "dark horse candidate" to win the party's nomination. Polk's campaign slogan was "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!" which referred to the latitude coordinates of the disputing territory. He promised that if he was to be elected, then he would not run for a second term.

Polk ran against two big competitors James Birney and Henrey Clay. Polk defeated both of them and then became the eleventh president of the United States. His vice-president was George M. Dallas, a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania. He won the popular vote by 39,000 out of 2.6 million, and he took the Electoral College with 170 votes to Clay's 105. Polk won 15 states while Clay won 11.

FOREIGN POLICY AND AFFAIRS

Polk wanted expansion of land. He, like most southerners, supported the Texas Annexation. Texas, just freeing themselves from Mexico, voted for annexation by the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution letting Texas be admitted to the Union. Texas became the 28th state of the United States. The Mexicans that lost Texas threatened that the loss would lead to war.

Polk pressured Britain to resolve the Oregon Boundary Dispute. Since 1818, it was shared by Great Britain and the United States. When Britain denied the agreement to the 49th Parallel proposal, Polk broke off all negotiations and went back to the "All Oregon" position. Polk did not want war, he only wanted land. So he compromised with the British Foreign Secretary and the Oregon Treaty of 1846 divided Oregon at the 49th parallel.

After the annexation of Texas, Polk focused on a new territory of Mexico, California. He sent diplomat John Slidell in to negotiate the purchase. Mexico denied the offer, so Polk sent troops under the command of General Zachary Taylor into the territory to increase pressure for Mexico to negotiate. While Taylor and his troops continued to blockade ships, Mexican forces crossed the Rio Grande and killed 11 soldiers. Polk message Congress for a war stating that Mexico "invaded our territory and Shed American blood." This led to the Mexican-American War.

DOMESTIC POLICY AND AFFAIRS

Polk achieved most of the domestic goals set by the Democratic Party. He followed Jackson's support of the "common man". He was considered the last strong president till Lincoln.
Walker Tariff of 1846
Polk said that he would never put another tariff out during his presidency. He got together with his secretary of state (also known as his brother-in-law) Robert Walker, and spoke with him about the tariff levels. Soon the Bill was passed to Congress, which over a long debate was agreed on. The Walker Tariff moved prices down toward revenue-only levels. It also dropped the policy of a percent of value of the goods rates (ad valorem rate) in favor for a set rate, regardless of what its value was. This was in favor for many of the citizens, even though some Congress disagreed.

Independent Treasury Act of 1846
Polk wanted to bring back the Independent Treasury Act that President Buren has made into a law in 1840, since the Whigs in Congress repealed it one year later. This act established independent treasury deposit offices separate from private/state banks to relieve all government funds. This system was supposed to help replace for the damages from the Panic of 1837. Polk made sure that any disbursements where given in hard currency, like gold or silver. This was to hopefully avoid any money problems in the bank while the country was expanding its territory.Wilmot Proviso: Slavery in the New Territories
The Wilmot Proviso said that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of the Mexico territory." Nearly all of the northern Democrats and Whigs supported it, southern Democrats and Whigs disapproved it. This exposed sectionalism, threatening to split the pro-slavery Democratic Party. Polk's southern supporters ended up looking towards John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. Calhoun made the "southern rights position" to the Wilmot Proviso stating that southerners should be able to transport their "human cattle" anywhere in the country. But towards then end of Polk's term, the issue of slavery in the new territories still loomed over the nation.

LEGACY

James Polk was a strong president. He was true to his promises, and had goals for the country. Polk was for the common man. He took towards citizen's best interests. He was considered the strongest president for awhile because he led the nation through some of its hard times like recovering from pet banks and making sure banks were then backed by hard currency. He was known for his foreign policy successes, like leading the victory of the Mexican-American War. He was the first president to retire after one term. And he died of cholera three months after his term ended.