James
Knox Polk, often referred to as the first "dark horse" President,
the last of Andrew Jackson's friends to sit in the White House, was the last
strong President until the Civil War. Born in 1795 on a farm near Pineville,
NC, he was a studious and industrious person who graduated at the top of
his class at the Univ. of North Carolina in 1818. James Polk entered the
law office of Felix Grundy, one of the foremost lawyers and politicians in
Tennessee. Polk was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in
1823. He became close friends of Andrew Jackson after supporting his presidential
ambiutions. In 1839 he left the Tennessee legislature to become Governor
of Tennessee. In nearby Murfreesboro, he met his wife Sarah Childress, daughter
of a well-to-do country merchant. They were married in a large country wedding
on New Years
Day in 1824. The Polks had no children.
In
1825, Polk was elected to the first of 7 terms in the US House. In 1844,
Martin VanBuren, leading Democractic candidate for President, opposed the
annexation of Texas. Polk won the nomination after 9 votes at the convention,
and the election by 40,000 votes. After inauguration, Polks goals were to
reduce the tariff, reestablish an independent treasury, settle the Oregon
boundary dispute, and acquire California. He achieved all of the goals. Polk
added a vast area to the US, but its acquisition precipitated a bitter quarrel
between the North and South over expanision of Slavery. Polk left office
with health problems undermined from hard work, and died in June
1849.
