James K. Polk
Tennessee expansionist president
James K.
Polk was the eleventh president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849.
A Democrat from Tennessee, he is remembered for dramatically expanding U.S. territory through the annexation of Texas, the Oregon Treaty with Britain, and the Mexican-American War, which added California and much of the Southwest.
Polk promised to serve only one term and kept that pledge, dying just three months after leaving office.
Formal beginning ceremony
- White HouseOfficial presidential residence
- administrationOrganizational oversight and control
- cabinetEnclosed storage furniture
- executiveSenior organizational leader
commander-in-chief · veto · term · dark horse · mandate · oath · annexation · Mexican-American War
Belief in justified American expansion
- territorial growthGaining new land
- annexationAbsorbing territory into jurisdiction
- CaliforniaWest coast megastate
- New MexicoSouthwestern U.S. state
Mexican-American War · Rio Grande · westward expansion · frontier · settlers · land acquisition · Pacific coast · Southwest
Liberal American political organization
- party nomineeChosen electoral representative
- dark horse candidateUnderestimated potential winner
- campaignOrganized effort toward goal
- electionOrganized public voting
Henry Clay · platform · tariff policy · voter · delegate · Van Buren · Tyler · party unity
Twelfth American chief executive
- Rio GrandeMajor southwestern waterway
- VeracruzMexican Gulf port city
- Buena VistaSpanish for good view
- Mexico CityCapital of its nation
war declaration · military occupation · annexation · peace negotiations · war funding · casualties
Tennessee's largest city
- ColumbiaAmerica personified, or its namesakes
- governorState's chief executive
- state legislatureLawmaking body below Congress
- congressmanHouse of Representatives member
law practice · planter · ancestry · Presbyterian · Southern · slaveholder · estate · burial site
inauguration
Formal beginning ceremony
- White HouseOfficial presidential residence
- administrationOrganizational oversight and control
- cabinetEnclosed storage furniture
executive · commander-in-chief · veto · term · dark horse · mandate · oath · annexation · Mexican-American War · tariff reduction
Manifest Destiny
Belief in justified American expansion
- territorial growthGaining new land
- annexationAbsorbing territory into jurisdiction
- CaliforniaWest coast megastate
New Mexico · Mexican-American War · Rio Grande · westward expansion · frontier · settlers · land acquisition · Pacific coast · Southwest
Democratic Party
Liberal American political organization
- party nomineeChosen electoral representative
- dark horse candidateUnderestimated potential winner
- campaignOrganized effort toward goal
election · Henry Clay · platform · tariff policy · voter · delegate · Van Buren · Tyler · party unity · political strategy
Zachary Taylor
Twelfth American chief executive
- Rio GrandeMajor southwestern waterway
- VeracruzMexican Gulf port city
- Buena VistaSpanish for good view
Mexico City · war declaration · military occupation · annexation · peace negotiations · war funding · casualties
Nashville
Tennessee's largest city
- ColumbiaAmerica personified, or its namesakes
- governorState's chief executive
- state legislatureLawmaking body below Congress
congressman · law practice · planter · ancestry · Presbyterian · Southern · slaveholder · estate · burial site
James K. Polkanti-imperialist
Opposing powerful states' expansion
John Quincy Adams · isolationist · Henry David Thoreau · contraction · Grover Cleveland
James K. PolkFranklin D. Roosevelt
Abraham Lincoln · George Washington · Theodore Roosevelt · Thomas Jefferson · John F. Kennedy
James K. PolkFranklin Pierce
1850s American president
James Buchanan · Warren G. Harding · Andrew Johnson · John Tyler · Zachary Taylor