The life and presidency of james polk essay

As a politician the president was passive, exhibiting none of the brilliance he had shown on the battlefield.

The life and presidency of james polk essay

He only had 5 promises: James Knox Polk followed a career path which was blazed by Andrew Jackson. Both men hailed from southwestern North Carolina.

Both migrated to Tennessee where they practiced law and entered politics, and both were elected president of the United States. As similar as their paths were, James Polk was a different personality from his fiery predecessor.

His life and career were marked by a relentless pursuit of his goals instead of the dramatic aura that perpetually surrounded Jackson.

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The effects of Polk's presidency, however, were more dramatic upon the nation. The oldest of ten children, Polk suffered from poor health.

In spite of his less than robust stamina, Polk moved west into Tennessee with his family where they settled on land purchased from Polk's grandfather.

Polk developed severe gallstones which were surgically removed in a risky procedure at that time. Without the benefit of modern technology, sterilization, or anesthesia, Polk remarkably survived the surgery. During these early years, his education was informal until when he enrolled in a Presbyterian school in Columbia.

Polk soon transferred to a more challenging school and in returned to North Carolina to attend the University in Chapel Hill. The future president excelled at the University of North Carolina, graduating with honors in Returning to Tennessee inPolk took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar the following year.

Polk attained his first political post inwinning election to the Tennessee House of Representatives.

The life and presidency of james polk essay

He became engaged during this same year and in married Sarah Childress, whom he had met in school before attending the University of North Carolina. Polk served in the Tennessee House from until during which time he supported Andrew Jackson's bid for the U.

Senate seat from Tennessee. He continued to support Jackson while serving in the U. House of Representatives from to Polk served as Speaker of the House for the last four years of this term. Polk won election as governor of Tennessee in but lost the gubernatorial election of and again in During these times of holding political office, "Young Hickory" followed Jackson's lead supporting the "common man" and lower taxes and attacking the Bank of the United States and federal surpluses.

Van Buren was the likely choice for the party nomination with Polk the favored choice for the vice-presidential nomination. Van Buren failed to gain the two-thirds majority vote required for the nomination on the first vote, and other contenders gained more votes in the subsequent balloting.

Polk received one delegate vote for the presidential nomination during the eighth round of voting, and won the nomination with votes in the next round making him the first dark-horse candidate to win his party's nomination. The campaign centered upon the annexation of Texas and the re-occupation of Oregon.

Conflict over the issue of slavery continued to strain the politics of the nation and directly affected the election. A national feeling of "Manifest Destiny," the belief that the United States should span the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, also spurred political debate.

The territory now known as Texas was part of a disputed boundary between the United States and Mexico in The issue of annexing Texas raised not only the question of war with Mexico, but also the issue of whether Texas would be a free state or slave state.

Polk's campaign slogan of "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!

James K. Polk - Conservapedia

Polk endorsed both the annexation of Texas and American control of the entire Oregon Territory. Polk also promised if elected not to seek a second term.

A third candidate, James G.

Early life. James Knox Polk, the first of ten children, was born on November 2, The Presidency of James K. Polk. ISBN Chaffin, Tom. Extensive essay on James K. Polk and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs;. A Barack Obama essay gives a picture of his life and political activities. Barack Obama has invited serious speculation when he became America’s first black president. A Barrack Obama essay writing that discusses his President-ship is quite popular. James A. Garfield Biography James A. Garfield was the 20th President of the United States who was assassinated within months of assuming office. This biography of James A. Garfield provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Birney, ran in the election extensively as an abolitionist. Birney's presence in the election captured votes which Clay needed. In the election, Polk defeated Clay and Birney to become the eleventh president of the United States. Polk's administration lived up to its campaign promises.

While the treaty did not provide the full territory to the United States, the area that is now the states of Washington and Oregon was formally placed under the control of the United States. The issue of Texas was not solved as peacefully. In the Texas debate America wanted to establish the southern border of the Source s:Before his presidency, James Madison was Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of State.

He was elected president in the Election of and served as president for two terms, between James Knox Polk was born in and was the oldest of Samuel and Jane Polk’s ten children. The original log home and traces of the Polk’s life on their acre farm in Mecklenburg County, just south of Charlotte, have disappeared, but a recreated cabin is open to the public.

Description. This biography explores the controversies, triumphs, and failures of the presidency of James K. Polk. Sam W. Haynes places Polk's expansionist agenda in both political and social contexts and examines the nature and origins of the expansionist impulse.

The life and presidency of james polk essay

Under James Knox Polk, the United States grew by more than a million square miles, adding territory that now composes the states of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, much of New Mexico, and portions of Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado.

A Barack Obama essay gives a picture of his life and political activities. Barack Obama has invited serious speculation when he became America’s first black president.

A Barrack Obama essay writing that discusses his President-ship is quite popular. Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United States of America was born in the State of Hawaii where he grew up.

His grandparents raised him up from a humble background.

The presidency of Obama began on 20th January in the year after he was sworn in as the 44th president of United States of America.

Essay Example On The President James Polk