How James K. Polk Became President
In May of 1818, James K. Polk graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina. While in university, Polk was a member of the Dialectic Society, a campus debating and oratory club. After graduation, Polk traveled to Nashville to study law under the famous Nashville trial attorney Felix Grundy. (Grundy would later serve as Attorney-General in the cabinet of President Martin Van Buren, and he became a mentor to Polk.
On September 20, 1819, Polk was elected clerk for the Tennessee State Senate, and was re-elected to that post two years later. Meanwhile, Polk was admitted to the bar in June of 1820. His first case was to defend his father against a change of public fighting. Polk lost the trial, but was able to secure his father's release upon payment of a one dollar fine. Polk had a busy law practice, in part due to cases arising from debts after the Panic of 1819.
In 1822 Polk joined the Tennessee militia as a captain in the cavalry regiment of the 5th Brigade. He was later appointed a colonel and named to the staff of Governor William Carroll. This is why Polk was later often referred to as "Colonel Polk." In 1822 Polk resigned his position as clerk to run for the Tennessee state legislature. He defeated incumbent William Yancey, becoming the new representative of Maury County. In October of that year, Polk voted for Andrew Jackson to become the next United States Senator from Tennessee, and this was the start of Polk becoming a Jackson supporter.
On January 1, 1824 28 year old James K. Polk married 20 year old Sarah Childress in Murfreesboro. A crude operation Polk had as a teenager to remove stones in his urinary tract likely left Polk unable to father children, so instead of raising a family, Sarah became a key adviser to her husband in his political career. She assisted him with his speeches, gave him advice on policy matters and played an active role in his campaigns.
In 1825, Polk ran for the United States House of Representatives for the Tennessee's 6th congressional district. Polk campaigned so vigorously that Sarah became concerned about her husband's health. The hard work paid off. He won the election and took his seat in Congress. Polk made his first major speech on March 13, 1826, in which he argued that the Electoral College should be abolished and that the President should be elected by the popular vote. In 1827 Polk was reelected to Congress.
In 1828, Andrew Jackson ran for President again and during the campaign Polk and Jackson corresponded, with Polk giving Jackson advice on his campaign. When Jackson won the election, Polk became a strong supporter of the administration's position in Congress.
In August 1833, after being elected to his fifth consecutive term, Polk became the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. In June 1834, Speaker of the House Andrew Stevenson resigned, leaving the spot for speaker open. Polk ran against fellow Tennessean John Bell for Speaker, and, after ten ballots, Bell narrowly won. Undeterred, Polk ran against Bell for Speaker again the following year and won. Polk continued his support for Jackson as speaker, and he supported Martin Van Buren during his term as President.
The two major issues during Polk's time as speaker were slavery and the economy, after the Panic of 1837. As speaker, Polk issued a gag rule on petitions from abolitionists. Polk is the only president to have served as Speaker of the House.
In 1838, the Tennessee Democrats persuaded Polk to return to run for Governor. He left Congress in 1839, ran for Governor and defeating the incumbent Whig, Newton Cannon by about 2,500 votes, out of about 105,000, despite the declining popularity of the Democratic Party. He was unable to achieve many of his goals because of the inability to get them approval by the legislature. In the presidential election of 1840, President Van Buren was soundly defeated by popular Whig William Henry Harrison. The anti-Democrat sentiment carried on as Polk lost his own reelection as Governor to James C. Jones, in 1841, by 3,243 votes. He ran against Jones again in 1843, campaigning across the state and publicly debating against Jones, but he was defeated again, this time by a slightly greater margin of 3,833 votes.
After losing two consecutive elections for Governor, Polk was viewed as yesterday's man. He hoped to be nominated for vice president at the Democratic convention in the 1844 election. The leading contender for the presidential nomination was Van Buren. Other candidates included James Buchanan, General Lewis Cass, John C. Calhoun, and Levi Woodbury. The primary point of political contention involved the Republic of Texas, which, after declaring independence from Mexico in 1836, had asked to join the United States. Van Buren opposed this, and in doing so lost the support of many Democrats, including former President Andrew Jackson. Van Buren won a simple majority on the convention's first ballot but did not attain the two-thirds supermajority required to win the nomination. In subsequent rounds the vote swung toward Cass, but he also fell short of the supermajority. When it became clear after another six ballots that neither of the front-runners would win the required majority, Polk emerged as a "dark horse" candidate. After an indecisive eighth ballot, the convention unanimously nominated Polk.
When told of his nomination, Polk promised to serve only one term if elected. His Whig opponent in the 1844 presidential election was Henry Clay of Kentucky. The annexation of Texas was the key issue in the campaign. Polk was supported immediate annexation, while Clay did not. The Democrats also championed the cause of western expansion. In the election, Polk and his running mate, George M. Dallas, won in the South and West, while Clay drew support in the Northeast. Polk lost both his birth state, North Carolina, and his home state of Tennessee. But he won New York, where Clay lost votes to the antislavery Liberty Party candidate James G. Birney. Also contributing to Polk's victory was the support of new immigrant voters, who opposed the Whigs' policies. Polk won the popular vote by a margin of about 39,000 out of 2.6 million votes, and won the Electoral College with 170 votes to Clay's 105. Polk won 15 states, while Clay won 11.
When he took office on March 4, 1845, at age 49, Polk became the youngest man at the time to become President. According to historian George Bancroft, Polk set four clearly defined goals for his administration:
1. Reestablish the Independent Treasury System.
2. Reduce tariffs.
3. Acquire some or all of the Oregon Territory.
4. Acquire California and New Mexico from Mexico.
As we are told in the song sung by the alternative group "They Might Be Giants", "in four short years he met his every goal." Admired by many for his determination and work ethic, and vilified by others for his war with Mexico, Polk was in fact able to achieve all of these goals to some extent, though as the excellent historian John Bicknell notes in this article, the idea that Polk "met his every goal" may be more spin than fact. There were some goals that Polk never met, such as acquiring Cuba and having California admitted into the union as a state.
Whatever one's assessment of Polk's accomplishments may be, it is clear that his health suffered in the process of achieving them. He lived for only 103 days after leaving office, the shortest retirement of any former President.
On September 20, 1819, Polk was elected clerk for the Tennessee State Senate, and was re-elected to that post two years later. Meanwhile, Polk was admitted to the bar in June of 1820. His first case was to defend his father against a change of public fighting. Polk lost the trial, but was able to secure his father's release upon payment of a one dollar fine. Polk had a busy law practice, in part due to cases arising from debts after the Panic of 1819.
In 1822 Polk joined the Tennessee militia as a captain in the cavalry regiment of the 5th Brigade. He was later appointed a colonel and named to the staff of Governor William Carroll. This is why Polk was later often referred to as "Colonel Polk." In 1822 Polk resigned his position as clerk to run for the Tennessee state legislature. He defeated incumbent William Yancey, becoming the new representative of Maury County. In October of that year, Polk voted for Andrew Jackson to become the next United States Senator from Tennessee, and this was the start of Polk becoming a Jackson supporter.
On January 1, 1824 28 year old James K. Polk married 20 year old Sarah Childress in Murfreesboro. A crude operation Polk had as a teenager to remove stones in his urinary tract likely left Polk unable to father children, so instead of raising a family, Sarah became a key adviser to her husband in his political career. She assisted him with his speeches, gave him advice on policy matters and played an active role in his campaigns.
In 1825, Polk ran for the United States House of Representatives for the Tennessee's 6th congressional district. Polk campaigned so vigorously that Sarah became concerned about her husband's health. The hard work paid off. He won the election and took his seat in Congress. Polk made his first major speech on March 13, 1826, in which he argued that the Electoral College should be abolished and that the President should be elected by the popular vote. In 1827 Polk was reelected to Congress.
In 1828, Andrew Jackson ran for President again and during the campaign Polk and Jackson corresponded, with Polk giving Jackson advice on his campaign. When Jackson won the election, Polk became a strong supporter of the administration's position in Congress.
In August 1833, after being elected to his fifth consecutive term, Polk became the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. In June 1834, Speaker of the House Andrew Stevenson resigned, leaving the spot for speaker open. Polk ran against fellow Tennessean John Bell for Speaker, and, after ten ballots, Bell narrowly won. Undeterred, Polk ran against Bell for Speaker again the following year and won. Polk continued his support for Jackson as speaker, and he supported Martin Van Buren during his term as President.
The two major issues during Polk's time as speaker were slavery and the economy, after the Panic of 1837. As speaker, Polk issued a gag rule on petitions from abolitionists. Polk is the only president to have served as Speaker of the House.
In 1838, the Tennessee Democrats persuaded Polk to return to run for Governor. He left Congress in 1839, ran for Governor and defeating the incumbent Whig, Newton Cannon by about 2,500 votes, out of about 105,000, despite the declining popularity of the Democratic Party. He was unable to achieve many of his goals because of the inability to get them approval by the legislature. In the presidential election of 1840, President Van Buren was soundly defeated by popular Whig William Henry Harrison. The anti-Democrat sentiment carried on as Polk lost his own reelection as Governor to James C. Jones, in 1841, by 3,243 votes. He ran against Jones again in 1843, campaigning across the state and publicly debating against Jones, but he was defeated again, this time by a slightly greater margin of 3,833 votes.
After losing two consecutive elections for Governor, Polk was viewed as yesterday's man. He hoped to be nominated for vice president at the Democratic convention in the 1844 election. The leading contender for the presidential nomination was Van Buren. Other candidates included James Buchanan, General Lewis Cass, John C. Calhoun, and Levi Woodbury. The primary point of political contention involved the Republic of Texas, which, after declaring independence from Mexico in 1836, had asked to join the United States. Van Buren opposed this, and in doing so lost the support of many Democrats, including former President Andrew Jackson. Van Buren won a simple majority on the convention's first ballot but did not attain the two-thirds supermajority required to win the nomination. In subsequent rounds the vote swung toward Cass, but he also fell short of the supermajority. When it became clear after another six ballots that neither of the front-runners would win the required majority, Polk emerged as a "dark horse" candidate. After an indecisive eighth ballot, the convention unanimously nominated Polk.
When told of his nomination, Polk promised to serve only one term if elected. His Whig opponent in the 1844 presidential election was Henry Clay of Kentucky. The annexation of Texas was the key issue in the campaign. Polk was supported immediate annexation, while Clay did not. The Democrats also championed the cause of western expansion. In the election, Polk and his running mate, George M. Dallas, won in the South and West, while Clay drew support in the Northeast. Polk lost both his birth state, North Carolina, and his home state of Tennessee. But he won New York, where Clay lost votes to the antislavery Liberty Party candidate James G. Birney. Also contributing to Polk's victory was the support of new immigrant voters, who opposed the Whigs' policies. Polk won the popular vote by a margin of about 39,000 out of 2.6 million votes, and won the Electoral College with 170 votes to Clay's 105. Polk won 15 states, while Clay won 11.
When he took office on March 4, 1845, at age 49, Polk became the youngest man at the time to become President. According to historian George Bancroft, Polk set four clearly defined goals for his administration:
1. Reestablish the Independent Treasury System.
2. Reduce tariffs.
3. Acquire some or all of the Oregon Territory.
4. Acquire California and New Mexico from Mexico.
As we are told in the song sung by the alternative group "They Might Be Giants", "in four short years he met his every goal." Admired by many for his determination and work ethic, and vilified by others for his war with Mexico, Polk was in fact able to achieve all of these goals to some extent, though as the excellent historian John Bicknell notes in this article, the idea that Polk "met his every goal" may be more spin than fact. There were some goals that Polk never met, such as acquiring Cuba and having California admitted into the union as a state.
Whatever one's assessment of Polk's accomplishments may be, it is clear that his health suffered in the process of achieving them. He lived for only 103 days after leaving office, the shortest retirement of any former President.