"James Knox Polk" our eleventh President was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, the son of a farmer and surveyor. The family moved to Tennessee soon afterward. President James Knox Polk attended the "University of North Carolina". President James Knox Polk studied law with a friend of "President Andrew Jackson" and came to know President Andrew Jackson very well.

President James Knox Polk became so loyal to President Andrew Jackson that later he was called "Young Hickory". As a member of the "Tennessee Legislature", President James Knox Polk proved such an able orator that his followers nicknamed him "The Napoleon of the Stump".

In 1824, President James Knox Polk married "Sarah Childress", but they never had any children. President James Knox Polk served in Congress from 1825 - 1839, the last four years as "Speaker of the House". President James Knox Polk was elected "Governor of Tennessee" in 1839. President James Knox Polk firmly believed that the United States should expand westward, even though it meant that some slave states would be added to the Union.

In the election of 1844 both Senator Henry Clay" and President Martin Van Buren" were seeking the Democratic nomination and both disapproved of annexing Texas because it was in slavery territory. President James Knox Polk, who had not even been thought of as a candidate, was nominated, the first "Dark Horse" nominee, when he demanded control of not only Texas, but all of Oregon, which was then jointly controlled by the United States of America and Great Britain.

President James Knox Polk won the election one hundred seventy to one hundred five. By the time President James Knox Polk took office, Texas had been admitted to the Union. In 1845, President James Knox Polk sent a mission to Mexico to buy New Mexico and California and to settle a Texas boundary dispute.

When the mission seemed to be unsuccessful, President James Knox Polk sent an Army under "Zachary Taylor" to the Mexican border. In a skirmish some American soldiers were killed, and President James Knox Polk demanded that "Congress declare war on Mexico". President James Knox Polk was opposed by a new "Whig Party" congressman, "Abraham Lincoln".

In the "War with Mexico", the United States gained California and nearly all the territory of the Southwest. In 1846, President James Knox Polk re-established the independent treasury destroyed by "President Andrew Jackson", and settled the "Oregon Boundary" at the forty-ninth parallel with Great Britain, giving up "Vancouver" to the British.

During this year "David Wilmot" proposed a law stating that no territory acquired through the Mexican War should ever be a slave territory. This law was debated in Congress, and the quarrels over it between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces eventually led to the "Civil War". Also in this year, President James Knox Polk manaed after considerable struggle to get the "Walker Tariff" passed.

This act provided for greatly reduced duties on imports to provide free trade with other countries. President James Knox Polk had said when he was nominated for the Presidency that he would serve only one term. President James Knox Polk retired to his home in Tennessee. Never very strong, he became ill shortly after his retirement in 1849 and died three months later.

Written by:
Karen Palumbo
Photography "NOT" by:
Robert Palumbo
2/7/2010 (c)