The Life and Career of James K. Polk
1. James K. Polk, early life
James Knox Polk was born on November 2, 1795, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He was the first child of Samuel and Jane (Knox) Polk. His parents were of Scottish and Irish descent, respectively. His father was a farmer and surveyor who served in the American Revolutionary War. His mother was a devout Presbyterian. Polk was educated at home until he was sixteen, when he entered an academy in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He graduated from the academy in 1814 and then enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied Latin, Greek, and philosophy. He graduated with honors in 1818 and then began to study law under Judge Felix Grundy in Nashville, Tennessee. He was admitted to the bar in 1820 and began to practice law in Columbia, Tennessee.
Polk’s political career began in 1823, when he was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives. He served one term before being appointed as a judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1825. He resigned from the court in 1827 to run for governor of Tennessee, but he was defeated by Sam Houston. In 1835, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat from Tennessee’s 9th congressional district. He served five terms in the House (1835-1839; 1843-1845), during which time he established himself as a Jacksonian Democrat. In 1844, he ran for Speaker of the House, but he was defeated by John Quincy Adams.
In 1845, Polk was nominated by the Democratic Party for president of the United States. He ran on a platform of expansionism and defeated his Whig opponent, Henry Clay, in the general election. He took office on March 4, 1845, and immediately set aboutworking to annex Texas and Oregon to the United States. In 1846, he declared war on Mexico in an attempt to annex California; the Mexican-American War resulted in U.S. victory and the acquisition of California and New Mexico. In early 1848, Polk negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Mexico, which ended the war and formalized U.S. ownership of those territories. Polk’s accomplishments as president also include the establishment of the U.S. Department of Interior and the Smithsonian Institution; he signed into law a bill granting federal support for construction of a railroad connecting Lake Michigan with San Francisco Bay; and he oversaw construction of Fort Polk in Louisiana (named after him).
Polk left office on March 4, 1849, and retired to his home in Nashville. He had never sought re-election and had no desire to return to public life; throughout his last year in office, he looked forward to his retirement to private life (indeed, he did not attend President Zachary Taylor’s inauguration). In 1850, however, he agreed to serve as chairman of the Nashville Convention, which sought to find a compromise solution to the growing conflict over slavery between slave states and free states. The convention failed to reach an agreement and ultimately adjourned without accomplishing anything; Polk then returned to private life for good.
On June 15, 1850—less than six months after leaving office—Polk died at his home in Nashville at age 54 after suffering from cholera morbus (an intestinal infection). He was buried in the Nashville City Cemetery.
2. Polk, James K.
James K. Polk was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He was a Democrat from Tennessee who ran on a platform of expansionism and annexing Texas and Oregon to the United States. He also negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War and formalized U.S. ownership of California and New Mexico. Polk’s accomplishments as president also include the establishment of the U.S. Department of Interior and the Smithsonian Institution; he signed into law a bill granting federal support for construction of a railroad connecting Lake Michigan with San Francisco Bay; and he oversaw construction of Fort Polk in Louisiana (named after him).
Polk left office in 1849 and retired to his home in Nashville. He had never sought re-election and had no desire to return to public life. In 1850, however, he agreed to serve as chairman of the Nashville Convention, which sought to find a compromise solution to the growing conflict over slavery between slave states and free states. The convention failed to reach an agreement and ultimately adjourned without accomplishing anything; Polk then returned to private life for good.
On June 15, 1850—less than six months after leaving office—Polk died at his home in Nashville at age 54 after suffering from cholera morbus (an intestinal infection). He was buried in the Nashville City Cemetery.
3. Polk, James K. (president, 1845-1849)
James K. Polk was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He was a Democrat from Tennessee who ran on a platform of expansionism and annexing Texas and Oregon to the United States. He also negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War and formalized U.S. ownership of California and New Mexico. Polk’s accomplishments as president also include the establishment of the U.S. Department of Interior and the Smithsonian Institution; he signed into law a bill granting federal support for construction of a railroad connecting Lake Michigan with San Francisco Bay; and he oversaw construction of Fort Polk in Louisiana (named after him).
4. Polk, James K. (vice president, 1849-1853)
After serving as president from 1845 to 1849, James K. Polk retire to his home in Nashville. He had never sought re-election and had no desire to return to public life. In 1850, however, he agreed to serve as chairman of the Nashville Convention, which sought to find a compromise solution to the growing conflict over slavery between slave states and free states. The convention failed to reach an agreement and ultimately adjourned without accomplishing anything; Polk then returned to private life for good.
5. Polk, James K. (president, 1853-1857)
After serving as vice president from 1849 to 1853, James K. Polk return to his home in Nashville. He had never sought re-election and had no desire to return to public life. In 1850, however, he agreed to serve as chairman of the Nashville Convention, which sought to find a compromise solution to the growing conflict over slavery between slave states and free states. The convention failed to reach an agreement and ultimately adjourned without accomplishing anything; Polk then returned to private life for good.