Description

Eleventh president, 1845–1849The life and career of James K. Polk reflected the country’s westward shift. His path followed the frontier as he moved from his birthplace in North Carolina to Tennessee. Polk, like most Americans in the nineteenth century, favored westward expansion and believed that settlers were destined to move across North America. As president, he acquired more than a million square miles of territory for the United States, in part by fomenting the Mexican-American War. As one of the most consequential presidents in American history, the vast expansion of territory opened up the question of slavery’s future, an issue that sparked conflict during the period leading up to the Civil War. Driven and determined, Polk took office with a limited agenda, accomplished all of it, and left office, as he planned, after only one term.11o presidente, 1845–1849La vida y la carrera de James K. Polk reflejan el desplazamiento del país hacia el oeste. Su infancia siguió la ruta de la frontera desde su natal Carolina del Norte hasta Tennessee. Al igual que la mayoría de los estadounidenses del siglo XIX, Polk estaba a favor de la expansión hacia el oeste y creía que el destino de los colonos era extenderse por toda Norteamérica. Como presidente, adquirió más de un millón de millas cuadradas de territorio para Estados Unidos, en parte fomentando la Guerra de Estados Unidos y México. Polk fue uno de los presidents de mayor impacto en la historia del país: la vasta expansión territorial puso sobre el...

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National Portrait Gallery

Record Harvested From

Smithsonian Institution