James K Polk Facts – The President

The 11th President of the United States was James Polk. He served from the year 1845 to 1849. When he was still serving, he was able to help in the expansion of America. It actually grew for like one-third of its original size. The extension surpassed across its continent and this was the very first time such occurrence took place. Prior to James taking office, he was a legislature in Tennessee. The same was also true in the U.S Congress. There was a time when he was elected governor of Tennessee. This was in 1839. These are among the common James K Polk Facts known to many.

James was popular for being a democrat. Outside the world of politics, he was not really famous. However, this fate of him changed in the 1844 presidential elections. He was even claimed as the dark horse candidate. When he was the president, he played a role in the reduction of tariffs. He was also responsible for the reformation of the national banking system of US. During his term, he was also able to settle the boundary dispute happening around the Oregon Territory. Security was offered here. This was directed in the United States. Apart from this, Polk also took the initiative in leading Mexican-American War. This started from the year 1846 to 1848. This was the instance when the time when California was owned by the United States. This is now known as the Southwest. His campaign was also remarkable. This gave him the chance to be a one-term president. After serving the office, he did not go for reelection anymore. He left the White House immediately. He passed away when he was 53 years old.

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Needless to say, the political life of James was colorful. He became a part of the House of Representatives for almost seven years. He was also the speaker of the House which transpired from the year 1935 to 1939. When he was still in the Congress, he worked with Andrew Jackson as his protégé. They were both Democrat and Tennessean. This was directed immediately towards the White House. It lasted from 1829 to 1837.

During his term, Polk was in favor of the states’ rights. He was an active supporter of the plan of Jackson. This was a way to have the Bank of the United States dismantled. This was also replaced by a banking system which was meant to decentralize the government. He was also called Young Hickory which was his nickname. He earned this as a way to refer to his mentor, Jackson. He was still dubbed as the Old Hickory because of how tough he was.

It was in the year 1839 when Polk had to leave the Congress. This started his career as the governor of Tennessee. A reelection transpired in 1841. However, he did not succeed. He experienced another defeat in 1843 for the governor post. As for his time – he was claimed as the dark candidate for there was a little expectation of him being the nominee for presidents of the Democrats.