James Polk

I

Introduction

James Polk (1795-1849), 11th president of the United States (1845-1849). He was one of the nation's most successful presidents. During his one term in office the United States expanded westward to the Pacific Ocean, California and the New Mexico Territory were won in the Mexican War (1846-1848), and the Oregon country was acquired through negotiations with Great Britain. A Jacksonian Democrat, Polk succeeded in putting the economic principles of the Democratic Party into law. However, he failed to prevent a split in his party over the slavery issue.

Despite his notable achievements, Polk has been consigned to relative obscurity among U.S. presidents. Although an able and extremely hard-working leader, he was not an imaginative statesman. However, as president he reflected the then-prevalent American belief in manifest destiny, the idea that the United States had a natural right to control all the territory between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He was also a firm believer in the strictest interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, which barred interference in the western hemisphere by European powers. Because he secured territorial growth, Polk is considered one of the most important of the American presidents.

II

Early Life

James Knox Polk was born on November 2, 1795, in a log cabin in Mecklenburg County on the North Carolina frontier. He was the eldest of ten children born to Samuel and Jane Knox Polk. His mother, a religious woman of great native intelligence, was a descendant of John Knox, the founder of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland. Both parents were descended from Scotch-Irish ancestors who had immigrated to America in the late 17th century.

A

Childhood Illness

In 1806, when James was 11 years old, the Polk family moved to the Duck river valley in central Tennessee, where Ezekiel Polk, James's grandfather, had a farm. James was not a healthy youth, and severe abdominal pains prevented him from leading an active life. His lonely, pain-ridden childhood made him an impassive and solitary figure who was never to have close friends. Above all, his poor health bred in him a fierce determination to compensate for his weak body by excelling others in the use of his mind. It was a strong ambition for a boy who, until he was 18, could barely read or write.

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In 1812 Polk's father took him to Danville, Kentucky, where the famous frontier surgeon Dr. Ephraim McDowell had his practice. McDowell diagnosed his stomach pains as gallstones and recommended an immediate operation. There were no anesthetics at that time, and Polk had to be strapped to the table and held by his father while the operation was performed. Surgery was then a hazardous undertaking, but the operation was a success, and afterward Polk enjoyed better health.

B

Education

Polk began his formal education when he was 18, at a church school near his home. His driving will and hours of study resulted in extraordinary progress. In a year he mastered not only English grammar, but Greek and Latin as well. By this time his father was a wealthy land speculator and was financially able to send Polk to a better school in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he continued his amazing progress.

He next applied for admission to the University of North Carolina and was found qualified for the sophomore class. He graduated in 1818 with first honors in mathematics and the classics. Of importance equal to his formal education was his introduction to politics at home. Both Ezekiel and Samuel Polk had been ardent followers of former President Thomas Jefferson. They were also friends and admirers of General Andrew Jackson, who was then Tennessee's leading citizen. These two men, Jefferson and Jackson, became Polk's political heroes and the greatest influences on his political career.

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