James Polk
Tennessee's presidential son
James Polk was the eleventh president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849.
A Democrat from Tennessee, he oversaw significant territorial expansion including the annexation of Texas and acquisition of California and the Pacific Northwest.
Polk is remembered as an effective but lesser-known president who achieved his major goals in a single term and declined to seek reelection.
Obvious, inescapable fate
- Mexican-American War1840s territorial conflict
- tariffsTaxes on imports
- veto powerAuthority to reject decisions
- patronage systemAwarding posts for loyalty
dark horse · Democratic Party · domestic policy · foreign policy · fiscal policy · executive · commander-in-chief · inauguration
Belief in justified American expansion
- territorial growthGaining new land
- CaliforniaWest coast megastate
- New MexicoSouthwestern U.S. state
- land acquisitionGaining ownership of terrain
frontier · Rio Grande · Oregon Trail · Pacific coast · settlers · pioneers · Republic of Texas · annexation
Tennessee's largest city
- ColumbiaAmerica personified, or its namesakes
- governorState's chief executive
- state legislatureLawmaking body below Congress
- Andrew JacksonSeventh U.S. president
Democrat · lawyer · plantation · slaveholder · landed gentry · cotton planter
Fifth decade, nineteenth century
- antebellumBefore a war's start
- Gold RushHistoric prospector migration
- telegraphElectrical message system
- railroadsTrain transportation systems
Victorian era · abolitionism · pioneers · settlers · Alamo · industrial revolution · steam engine · Mexican-American War
manifest destiny
Obvious, inescapable fate
- Mexican-American War1840s territorial conflict
- tariffsTaxes on imports
- veto powerAuthority to reject decisions
patronage system · dark horse · Democratic Party · domestic policy · foreign policy · fiscal policy · executive · commander-in-chief · inauguration · administration
Manifest Destiny
Belief in justified American expansion
- territorial growthGaining new land
- CaliforniaWest coast megastate
- New MexicoSouthwestern U.S. state
land acquisition · frontier · Rio Grande · Oregon Trail · Pacific coast · settlers · pioneers · Republic of Texas · annexation · national boundaries
Nashville
Tennessee's largest city
- ColumbiaAmerica personified, or its namesakes
- governorState's chief executive
- state legislatureLawmaking body below Congress
Andrew Jackson · Democrat · lawyer · plantation · slaveholder · landed gentry · cotton planter
1840s
Fifth decade, nineteenth century
- antebellumBefore a war's start
- Gold RushHistoric prospector migration
- telegraphElectrical message system
railroads · Victorian era · abolitionism · pioneers · settlers · Alamo · industrial revolution · steam engine · Mexican-American War · Oregon Trail
James PolkHenry Clay
Zachary Taylor · Daniel Webster · Whig Party · John Quincy Adams · John Tyler
James PolkGeorge Washington
Abraham Lincoln · Franklin D. Roosevelt · Thomas Jefferson · Theodore Roosevelt · John F. Kennedy
James PolkJames Buchanan
Franklin Pierce · Warren G. Harding · Andrew Johnson · John Tyler