Inspirational Quotes by James K. Polk (President of America)

James Knox Polk (1795–1849) was the 11th president of America 1845–49. A Democrat and a strong supporter of expansionism and “manifest destiny,” his government oversaw major territorial additions to the United States when Texas was admitted to the Union in 1845. Conflict with Mexico resulted in the annexation of California and other states parts of the Southwest two years later.

Born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Polk was admitted to the Bar in 1820. He was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1825. He became Speaker of the House in 1835, advancing Andrew Jackson’s legislative aims, including the attack on the Bank of the United States. He served as governor of Tennessee (1839–41.) In 1844, he gained the Democratic nomination as a compromise candidate and was elected president, defeating the Whig candidate Henry Clay, mainly because of his advocacy of the annexation of Texas.

Congress voted to annex Texas just before Polk’s inauguration in 1845. When an attempt to buy California from Mexico was snubbed, Polk forced hostilities by advancing the U.S. Army to the Rio Grande, thus launching the Mexican War. The capital was taken in 1847, and per the terms of peace, America acquired California and New Mexico.

Domestically, Polk created the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the Smithsonian Institution. He also reduced the tariff, restored the independent treasury system, and settled the Oregon boundary dispute with Great Britain.

Though an efficient and competent president and deft in his handling of Congress, Polk was exhausted and in poor health by the end of his term, and he died a few months after leaving office.

Eugene Irving McCormac wrote James K Polk: A Political Biography (1922.)

More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by James K. Polk