James K. Polk was born November 2, 1795 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina and died June 15, 1849 in Nashville, Tennessee. He married Sarah Childress Polk. They had no children.
James K. Polk is mostly known for expanding the territory of the United States. He added Texas and Wisconsin as states and secured land to the west that would one day make up the entire 48 contiguous states of the United States.
He grew up in a big family. He was the oldest of 10 children.
He graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina in 1818, and became a successful lawyer.
He soon decided to enter politics. He was elected to the Tennessee state legislature, then became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He served in the House for 14 years. He was a respected member and was eventually elected to Speaker of the House. In 1839 he became governor of Tennessee.
In 1844, Polk entered the presidential race hoping to be nominated for vice president, but ended up being nominated by the Democrats for president. He became president in 1845.
When Polk became president, his main goal was to expand the borders of the United States all the way to the Pacific Ocean. He also wanted to settle border disputes with Great Britain regarding the Oregon Territory.
Polk threatened Great Britain with war over the northern boundary to the west. He said that the U.S. wanted the territory all the way to the 54-40 line, just south of Alaska. A popular slogan of the day was “54-40 or fight”. Britain later agreed to a border at the 49th parallel, which is today the border between the U.S. and Canada.
One of the first things Polk did when he became president was to grant Texas statehood. As a result, the Mexican-American War broke out. The Americans dominated the war and eventually took over much of the land that became the Southwest of the United States including New Mexico, Arizona, and California. He added 1.2 million square miles of land to the United States.
He decided not to run for a second term as president. He felt that he had accomplished his goal of expanding the territory of the U.S. to the Pacific Ocean and there was no need for another term. Just three months after leaving office, he died of cholera. He is considered by many historians to be one of the more important U.S. presidents in history.
James K. Polk – (1845-1849)
(This is an edited article from Ducksters.com).