Presidential Resources Online
James K. Polk 1845 - 1849
"Who was James K. Polk?" the Whigs questioned
scornful during the presidential campaign of 1844. History has vindicated
Polk because, as one nineteenth century historian stated, "What Polk went
for he fetched."
Born in 1795 in Mecklenberg, County, North Carolina, Polk
moved with his family to a farm in Maury County, Tennessee, at the age of
eleven. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1818 and
returned to Tennessee to study law in Nashville. Polk set up his practice
in Columbia and subsequently served in the Tennessee House, seven consecutive
terms in the U.S. House, and as governor of Tennessee.
Elected President at the age of forty-nine, Polk took the
oath at a younger age than any of his ten predecessors. At the beginning
of his term he established four objectives for his administration: reduction of
the tariff, creation of an independent treasury system, acquisition of
California, and settlement of the Oregon boundary question. Before leaving
the White House in 1849, Polk had achieved all four of his goals.
The Walker Tariff Act of 1846 lowered duties on imports, and
the Independent Treasury Act of the same year reestablished a financial system
that prevailed until its replacement by the Federal Reserve System. The
Oregon Controversy was settled with Great Britain without military conflict, and
the states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington were carved out of the Oregon
Country. Polk's support for the annexation of Texas let to the Mexican War
and the acquisition of territories that would become the states of Arizona,
California, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico.
After one term in the oval office, Polk retired as he had
promised during his campaign. In recognition of his accomplishments, James
K. Polk is now ranked by historians as on of our ten greatest presidents.
Online James K. Polk Resources:
Assessing the James K. Polk
Administration: This is an online essay which questions whether we should
have gone to war with Mexico.
The James K. Polk Ancestral Home:
The official home page of the ancestral home of James K. Polk, which is located
in Columbia, Tennessee.
TPT Home
Return to Presidential
Resources