President James K. Polk

James K. Polk

1795-1849

There is a classic line near the end of the film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”  If asked to name the ten greatest presidents of the United States, most Americans would include Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and FDR.  They might include Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson or even Reagan.  These presidents are certainly legendary.  I wonder how many would include James K. Polk, the 11th President of the United States?  In rankings of the presidents, Polk is usually between #9 and #12 inclusive. Donald Graham of Newsweek called him the “our least-known consequential president.”  Robert Merry, a Polk biographer, called him a “smaller than life figure.”  Whatever happened to the legend of James K. Polk?

Polk was born and raised on a prosperous farm in North Carolina.  He studied law at University of North Carolina.  After graduation, he moved to Nashville to continue to study law.  He was elected to the Tennessee state legislature in 1823.  He got the nickname ‘Napolean of the Stump’ for his gifted oratory.  In 1825, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where he continued to serve for 14 years.  He was Speaker of the House during his last four years in Congress (and is the only U.S. president to have been Speaker).   He returned to Tennessee in 1839 where he was elected Governor.  In 1844, the democratic convention, having no clear presidential candidate, selected Polk on the ninth ballot.  Polk accepted the nomination but vowed to serve only one term, hoping that 1848 would yield a candidate with broader support.  With this admission of mediocrity, Polk ran against Henry Clay of Kentucky and won the election largely because of his enthusiastic endorsement of western expansion, or ‘Manifest Destiny’ as it would come to be known. 

Polk set four goals for his one-term presidency: 1) establishment of an independent Treasury, 2) tariff reduction, 3) acquisition of some or all of the Northwestern territory, and 4) acquisition of California and New Mexico from Mexico.  These were enormous goals; he achieved them all in four years.   Describing Polk, President Truman wrote “Said what he intended to do and did it."  The first three of these goals were achieved through brilliant, shrewd politics and foreign diplomacy.  The fourth was achieved by intimidation, vitriol, and brute force.  Nonetheless, Polk is remembered today for the Mexican Cession, the addition of 1/3 of the continental United States in a single stroke. Here is how he did it.

The Battle of Veracruz

Soon after taking office, Polk sent John Slidell to Mexico to purchase California and New Mexico for around $25 million.  Mexico was expecting Slidell to compensate for the loss of Texas, not offer to buy even more of their territory.   When Mexico sent Slidell home empty-handed, President Polk was so outraged that he sent troops under General Zachary into the disputed land between the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers to further intimidate Mexico.  Mexican forces crossed the Rio Grande and killed sixteen American soldiers.  Polk went to Congress on May 11, 1846, declaring that Mexico had "invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil."  Congress declared war on Mexico after minimal debate.  By the summer of 1846, General Stephen Kearny captured New Mexico and marched toward California across the blistering Sonora desert. Meanwhile, Army captain John C. Fremont encouraged the settlers of Sonoma to revolt.  The settlers established a California Republic and flew a Bear Flag for 23 day until Fremont and his men arrived and replaced it with the U.S. flag.  Commodore Robert F. Stockton captured Monterey, Yerba Buena (San Francisco), Los Angeles, and San Diego to gain U.S. control of California.  What Stockton didn’t count on was resistence from a band of Californios who reclaimed Los Angeles and clashed with Stephen Kearny’s small army in the Battle of San Pasqual, near modern-day Escondido, CA.  Stockton’s forces rode from San Diego, relieved Kearny’s besieged unit, and chased the Californios all the way to the San Gabriel Mountains.  Meanwhile, Taylor’s army of 2300 crossed the Rio Grande and invaded Mexico.  The hard-fought Battle of Monterrey saw huge losses on both sides.  In early 1947, Polk sent a second army under General Winfield Scott to invade the Mexican heartland. Scott’s army made the first U.S. amphibious landing in Battle of Veracruz.  Scott pushed into Mexico and captured the capital, Mexico City.  Without much choice, Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which ceded California and New Mexico territories to the United States.  The U.S. paid Mexico $15 million and assumed $3.25 million in debts owed to Americans by Mexico. 

By the time Polk’s term was over, he was suffering from cholera probably contracted while on a tour of the South.  His face was lined and haggard and his spirit was drained.  Polk died at his Nashville home three months after leaving office, the shortest retirement of all the presidents.  Polk’s legacy is tarnished by the unavoidable conclusion that the Mexican-American War was simply a stronger country taking what it wanted from a weaker one.  Nonetheless, when you contemplate the map of the United States, it’s hard not to admire the man who added a third of it.

Question of the Day: President Polk's Secretary of State is often considered the worse president of all.  Who was he?