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U.S. Presidents & Presidency: Polk

A topic guide covering the Presidents of the United States. This is an ongoing project. As such, additional individuals will be added over time.

James K. Polk

James Knox Polk was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. Prior to the presidency, Polk served as the speaker of the House of Representative and as the ninth governor of Tennessee. 

Polk owned enslaved individuals throughout his presidency. "In addition to using enslaved labor at the White House, Polk secretly purchased enslaved people and separated children aged ten through seventeen from their families while in office" (White House Historical Society). 

Polk died in Nashville, Tennessee in 1849. 

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Polk

InPolk, Walter R. Borneman gives us the first complete and authoritative biography of a president often overshadowed in image but seldom outdone in accomplishment. James K. Polk occupied the White House for only four years, from 1845 to 1849, but he plotted and attained a formidable agenda: He fought for and won tariff reductions, reestablished an independent Treasury, and, most notably, brought Texas into the Union, bluffed Great Britain out of the lion’s share of Oregon, and wrested California and much of the Southwest from Mexico. On reflection, these successes seem even more impressive, given the contentious political environment of the time. In this unprecedented, long-overdue warts-and-all look at Polk’s life and career, we have a portrait of an expansionist president and decisive statesman who redefined the country he led, and we are reminded anew of the true meaning of presidential accomplishment and resolve.

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