James K. Polk: A Short Biography Eleventh President of the United States

By Doug West

A “long-shot” or “underdog” would best describe the former governor of Tennessee, James Knox Polk, who had lost two reelection bids and now sought his party’s vice-presidential nomination. Events unfolded rapidly at the Democratic convention in the warm summer of 1844. James Polk had hoped to be his party’s choice as frontrunner Martin Van Buren’s vice presidential nominee going into the fall general election. Seven ballots into the nomination process the convention was hopelessly deadlocked, then Polk’s friends began spreading the word that “Young Hickory” was Andrew Jackson’s choice and that he could bring harmony to the party. On the ninth ballot of the delegates vote, Polk became the presidential nominee of the party to run against the veteran Whig candidate Henry Clay. A third-party candidate would syphon off just enough votes from Clay to throw the general election to Polk.
Polk was no stranger to Washington; having been a seven-term congressman and eventually holding the powerful position of Speaker of the House of Representatives. Polk was brought into the nation’s highest office through a wave of expansionist fervor. Many believed it was the providence of God or “Manifest Destiny” that America should possess the land from “sea to shining sea,” and James Polk was just the man to push this dream into reality.
Polk would turn out to be one of the exceptional presidents of the nineteenth century. A hundred years later, President Harry Truman would extol Polk, writing, “James K. Polk [was] a great president. Said what he intended to do and did it.” Polk did fulfill the desires of the country to expand. When he entered the office of the president, Missouri was the western border of the nation; upon leaving the office four short years later, the Pacific Ocean bordered the growing nation to the west.

“James K. Polk: A Short Biography” crisply reveals the life and times of the eleventh president of the United States.

30-Minute Book Series

This is the 39th book in the 30-Minute Book Series. Books in this series are fast-paced, accurate, and cover the story in as much detail as a short book possibly can. Most people complete each book in less than an hour, which makes the books in the series a perfect companion for your lunch hour or a little down time.

About the Author

Doug West is a retired engineer and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with special expertise in history, science, biographies, and “How To” topics. Doug has a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug West
• Release date: May 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463989357

Doug West

Doug West is a retired engineer, small business owner, and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with expertise in science, history, biographies, numismatics, and “How to” topics. Doug has a B.S. in Physics from the Missouri School of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He lives with his wife and little dog “Millie” near Kansas City, Missouri.

Book preview

James K. Polk: A Short Biography

Eleventh President of the United States

By Doug West, Ph.D.

James K. Polk: A Short Biography

Eleventh President of the United States

Copyright © 2019 Doug West

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

For my grandson Theodore

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Early Years

Chapter 2 – United States House of Representatives

Chapter 3 – Election of 1844

Chapter 4 – President James K. Polk

Chapter 5 – The Oregon Country

Chapter 6 – Annexation of Texas

Chapter 7 – The Mexican-American War

Chapter 8 - A Short Retirement

Timeline of James K. Polk

Biographical Sketches

References and Further Reading

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Additional Books by Doug West

Preface

Welcome to the book, James K. Polk: A Short Biography. This book is volume 39 of the 30 Minute Book Series and, as the name of the series implies, if you are an average reader this book will take less than an hour to read. Since this short book is not meant to be an all-encompassing biography of James K. Polk, you may want to know more about this man and his accomplishments. To help you with this, there are several good references at the end of this book. I have also provided a Timeline, in order to link together the important events in President Polk’s life, and a section titled Biographical Sketches, which includes brief biographies of some of the key individuals in the book.

Thank you for purchasing this book, and I hope you enjoy your time reading about this American president.

Doug West

May 2019

Introduction

A long-shot or underdog would best describe the former governor of Tennessee, James K. Polk, who had lost two reelection bids and now sought the vice-presidential nomination. At the Democratic convention in the warm summer of 1844, James Polk had hoped to be his party’s choice as frontrunner Martin Van Buren’s vice presidential nominee going into the fall general election. Fate would intervene and on the ninth ballot of the delegates vote, Polk became the presidential