Born: 1795, Mecklenburg County, NC
Died: 1849

James Polk was a Tennessee lawyer, Governor and U.S. Speaker of the House before he emerged as the Democrats’ compromise Presidential candidate in 1845, defeating the Whig leader Henry Clay. The “dark horse” President claimed America had a “manifest destiny” to expand across the continent. The public agreed, but his own party was divided on the issue, knowing that Polk’s vision could well result in war with Mexico or Britain.

The Mexican War began in 1846 after Texas joined the Union. Triumphant American forces entered Mexico City in 1847. The Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty of 1848 established the Texas border at the Rio Grande and provided for America’s purchase of a huge tract of land encompassing what is now California and Nevada and parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. War with Britain in the Northwest was averted by the Oregon Treaty of 1846, which fixed most of that territory’s boundary at the 49th parallel.

Polk fulfilled all his campaign pledges, including lowering the national tariff and establishing an independent Treasury. The Presidency took a toll on his health, however, and he died three months after leaving office.

Eleventh President
Democrat

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