James K. Polk

[[File:James Polk restored & cropped.jpg|165px|thumb|right|James Polk]]{{USpolitics}}
'''James Knox Polk''' {{lived|1795|1849}}<ref>''[https://jameskpolk.com/history/the-death-of-james-k-polk/ The Death of James K. Polk]'', "The President James K. Polk Home & Museum"</ref> was the eleventh [[President of the United States]], serving from 1845 until 1849. He also served as Speaker of the House from 1835 until 1839,<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-K-Polk James K. Polk] Britannica</ref> making him the only person in United States history to have both positions.

==Andrew's Friend==
Polk was rather similar to [[Andrew Jackson]], at least in terms of political positions. He even earned the nickname "Young Hickory," a play on Jackson's nickname of "Old Hickory."<ref>[https://www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/james-polk James K. Polk] The White House Historical Association</ref> Sarah Polk, James's wife, even called President Jackson "Uncle Andrew" and is widely believed to be the person who got the two of them together.<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/lady-first-review-the-inside-game-11549031563 ‘Lady First’ Review: The Inside Game] ''The Wall Street Journal''</ref> Polk "became a friend of Andrew Jackson," early on during his time as a lawyer, and is commonly cited as "the last of the Jacksonians to sit in the White House."<ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/james-k-polk/ James K. Polk] White House</ref>

In Congress, where Thomas Leonard once called him "at the center of [[Andrew Jackson#Jacksonian|Jacksonian Democracy]] on the House floor,"<ref>''James K. Polk: A Clear and Unquestionable Destiny'' by Thomas M. Leonard</ref>{{rp|23}} Polk quickly proved himself to be a Jackson loyalist, blasting the entire [[Electoral College]] system in response to Jackson's defeat because of it in 1824<ref>''James K. Polk: A Political Biography'' by Eugene McCormac</ref>{{rp|15}} and helping Jackson fight the national bank during his famous Bank Wars through keeping Congress from overriding Jackson's veto.<ref>[https://www.sparknotes.com/biography/polk/section4/ James K. Polk] SparkNotes</ref>

==The 1844 Convention==
Polk is notable for marking "the first heavily contested [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] presidential nomination."<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Democratic-National-Convention Democratic National Convention] Britannica</ref> Former President [[Martin Van Buren]] was once again running for President despite his loss in 1840, at a time when "the Democrats were bitterly divided over the question of the annexation of [[Texas]]," of which Van Buren was a vocal critic.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Van-Buren Martin Van Buren] Britannica</ref> Originally, Polk was only interested in running for Vice President, however when those who supported Martin Van Buren, Lewis Cass,{{efn|Who was later the nominee in 1848}} and James Buchanan{{efn|Who would later become the Democratic nominee in 1856 and even get to serve a term as President himself later on}} could not find a compromise, they decided they needed to pick a new candidate, and Polk was their answer.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-K-Polk James K. Polk] Britannica</ref>

Polk was a supporter of "the immediate annexation of Texas because he argued it was originally part of the Louisiana Purchase but was unjustly lost with the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819."<ref>[https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/james-polk James Polk]</ref> Polk's aforementioned friendship with Andrew Jackson also paid off quite a bit, as it was Jackson who "helped start the movement to jettison him in favor of" Polk at the convention.<ref>[https://millercenter.org/president/jackson/life-after-the-presidency ANDREW JACKSON: LIFE AFTER THE PRESIDENCY] Miller Center</ref>

Ultimately, this was quite possibly the best move the Democratic Party could have engaged in. Polk was able to frame himself as the candidate of [[manifest destiny]] through the annexation of Texas, and although his opponent [[Henry Clay]] did manage to campaign on a position held in both the North and [[the South]]{{efn|The North was worried adding Texas would spread [[slavery]] while the South feared doing such would cause their land to lose value and their slaves to become more expensive}} it was simply impossible to compare with the massive support for what Polk was believed to stand for.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1MSEmP0_JM The American Presidential Election of 1844] YouTube</ref>

===Roorbacking===
{{main|Fake news}}
On August 21, 1844, the newspaper ''Ithaca Chronicle'' published an excerpt supposedly from the book ''Roorback's Tour Through the Western and Southern States in 1836'' written by "Baron Roorback". The story contained a passage about how Roorback had supposedly met with forty of Polk's slaves who had been branded with his initials.<ref name=hoax>[https://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/the_roorback_hoax The Roorback Hoax], ''Museum of Hoaxes''</ref> While it is true that Polk did own slaves (although his opponent Clay was also a slaveowner)<ref>[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-day-henry-clay-refused-to-compromise-153589853/ The Day Henry Clay Refused to Compromise], Gilbert King, ''Smithsonian'' 6 December 2012</ref> and he was not above tearing apart his slaves' families,<ref>[https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-enslaved-households-of-james-k-polk The Enslaved Households of President James K. Polk], Lina Mann, ''White House Historical Association'' 3 January 2020</ref> such mass branding was not super common at that time, as branding was mostly used on recaptured runaway slaves to identify them if they escaped again.<ref>[http://archive.understandingslavery.com/index.php-option=com_content&view=article&id=441_branding-iron&catid=145&Itemid=255.html Branding iron], ''Understanding Slavery Initiative''</ref> However, it turned out that "Baron Roorback" was not a real person and that the passage, which had been edited to include a reference to Polk where none had existed in the original text, had been [[plagiarism|plagiarized]] from ''Excursion Through the Slave States'', a travel memoir written by {{wpl|George William Featherstonhaugh||.}}<ref name=hoax /> This led to the coining of the term "roorbacking", which refers to malicious lies spread about candidates for political gain, and the incident can be considered one of the first "{{wpl|October surprise|October surprises|"}} in American history.<ref>[https://politicaldictionary.com/words/roorback/ Roorback], ''Taegan Goddard's Political Dictionary''</ref>

==Presidency==
===Mexican-American War===
{{main|Mexican-American War}}
Polk is most known for the Mexican-American War, which was fought from 1846 until 1848.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/event/Mexican-American-War Mexican-American War] Britannica</ref> It was incredibly controversial at the time, largely due to it "stemming from the United States’ annexation of Texas,"<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/event/Mexican-American-War Mexican-American War]</ref> which was already incredibly controversial at the time. [[Abraham Lincoln]] even managed to start his political career through opposition to the conflict.<ref>[https://library.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/static/onlineexhibits/lincoln/rail_splitter/06.html RISE OF THE RAIL SPLITTER] Harvard's Lincoln</ref>

The action that finally caused a [[war]] to be declared was the Thornton Affair, where "Mexicans routed the Americans, and took nearly 50 men as prisoners, including Captain William J. Hardee."<ref>[https://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entries/thornton-affair-1846/ The Thornton Affair — The First Bloodshed of the Mexican-American War] American History Central</ref> Shortly thereafter, President Polk would say Mexico "has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon American soil," and asked Congress to declare war on the nation.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-mexican-american-war/ The Mexican American War] PBS</ref> Many Americans were skeptical of this, including Lincoln, who attempted to create what became known as the Spot Resolutions as they were dedicated to figuring out where this fighting took place, and with that if it was territory of the United States or [[Mexico]], although these ultimately ended up going nowhere.<ref>[https://newrepublic.com/article/61550/the-mexican-war-dove The Mexican War Dove] The New Republic</ref>

==Notes==
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==References==
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{{POTUS}}

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[[Category:Former United States Governors]]
[[Category:Former United States Representatives]]
[[Category:Hoaxes]]
[[Category:Lawyers]]
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[[Category:Slavery]]
[[Category:United States politicians]]

Categories: Former United States Governors, Former United States Representatives, Hoaxes, Lawyers, Presidents of the United States, Slavery, United States politicians