Search results
James Knox Polk (/ p oʊ k /; [1] November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party , he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and extending the territory of the United States.
- Overview
- Early life and career
James K. Polk was the eldest child of Samuel and Jane Knox Polk. At age 11 he moved with his family to Tennessee, where his father operated a prosperous farm in Maury county.
Who was James K. Polk married to?
In 1824 James K. Polk married Sarah Childress, the daughter of a prominent slaveholding family. She helped foster Polk’s political rise, serving as his eyes and ears in state and national politics through her friendships with leading figures of the day. When Polk became U.S. president, she was often referred to as “the Presidentress.”
What were James K. Polk’s major accomplishments?
Pres. James K. Polk oversaw a large territorial expansion of the United States. He advocated for annexation of Texas and aggressively prosecuted the resulting Mexican-American War, which added much of the Southwest and California to the country’s territory. In addition, he acquired the Oregon country through a treaty with Great Britain.
When did James K. Polk die?
Polk was the eldest child of Samuel and Jane Knox Polk. At age 11 he moved with his family to Tennessee, where his father operated a prosperous farm in Maury county. Although ill health during his childhood made formal schooling impossible, Polk successfully passed, at age 20, the entrance requirements for the second-year class at the University of North Carolina. He was “correct, punctual, and industrious,” and as a graduating senior in 1818 he was the Latin salutatorian of his class—a preeminent scholar in both the classics and mathematics.
After graduation he returned to Tennessee and began to practice law in Nashville. His interest in politics, which had fascinated him even as a young boy, was encouraged by his association with leading public figures in the state. In 1820 he was admitted to the bar. Because he was a confirmed Democrat and an unfailing supporter of Andrew Jackson and because his style of political oratory became so popular that he was characterized as the “Napoleon of the stump,” his political career was assured.
His rapid rise to political power was furthered by his wife, Sarah Childress Polk (1803–91), whom he married January 1, 1824, while serving in the state House of Representatives (1823–25). She proved to be the most politically dominant president’s wife since Abigail Adams. The social prominence of Sarah Polk’s family (her father, Joel Childress, was a planter) and her personal charm and bearing, which was sometimes described as queenly, were distinct assets for a politically ambitious lawyer. A high-spirited woman, she and her sister had traveled 500 miles on horseback in their determination to attend one of the best schools in the South, the Moravian Female Academy in Salem, North Carolina. Because she disdained housekeeping and the marriage was childless, she was freed of most domestic chores to participate in the public life of her husband. She monitored his health assiduously, and, as his hostess, she won the admiration and esteem of the leading figures of the day. Among those who became her friends, and therefore helpful to her husband, were President Jackson, future president Franklin Pierce, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, and Floride Calhoun, the wife of John C. Calhoun, the powerful senator of South Carolina. Year after year she was her husband’s closest companion and his eyes and ears in state and national politics. When her husband became president, she was often referred to as “the Presidentress.” Her stern Presbyterianism persuaded her to eschew dancing, the theatre, and horse racing, and in the President’s House she forbade music on Sundays. Although a stickler for tradition, she oversaw the installation of the first gaslights in the White House.
Britannica Quiz
U.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz
James K. Polk was by nature a student of government, by experience a legislator, and by force of circumstance an administrator. He was not an easy man to know or to like. Even close companions did not relish his austerity, and associates tolerated but did not approve of his inflexible living standards. Among his few close friends was Andrew Jackson, who encouraged and advanced Polk and whose influence carried him from the Tennessee House of Representatives to the United States House of Representatives, where he served from 1825 to 1839.
Oct 29, 2009 · James Knox Polk was born on November 2, 1795, in a log cabin in Mecklenburg, North Carolina. As a boy, Polk, the eldest of 10 children, moved with his family to Columbia, Tennessee, where his ...
Apr 2, 2014 · James Knox Polk was born in Pineville, a small town in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, on November 2, 1795, and graduated with honors in 1818 from the University of North Carolina.
James K. Polk. On November 2, 1795, James K. Polk was born in Pineville, North Carolina to Samuel and Jane Polk. The promise of greater economic opportunities and prosperity drew Samuel Polk and his family westward, and they soon settled just south of Nashville, Tennessee. He became a respected community leader, county judge, businessman, and ...
Often referred to as the first “dark horse” President, James K. Polk was the last of the Jacksonians to sit in the White House, and the last strong President until the Civil War. He was born ...
People also ask
Where was James Polk born?
When did James Knox Polk die?
Who was James Polk?
How did James Polk become president?
How old was James Polk when he entered the White House?
Where did Ezekiel Polk live?
Nov 16, 2009 · On November 2, 1795, James Knox Polk is born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Polk grew up on his father’s plantation in Tennessee and attended the University of North Carolina, from which ...
