which president called for annexation of the entire oregon territory
In the presidential election of 1844 the Whig Party nominated Henry Clay of Kentucky. Clay refused to take a stand on the annexation of Texas. The Democrats rejected former president Martin Van Buren, who opposed annexation, and nominated James K. Polk of Tennessee. Polk ran on a pro-annexation platform: He would annex Texas, and he would assert American ownership of all of Oregon s territory disputed with Britain. Polk s position on Oregon was intended to reassure Northerners that expansion would benefit them as well as the South.