The New International Encyclopædia/Polk, James Knox
POLK, ,  (1795-1849). The
eleventh President of the United States, born in
Mecklenburg County, N. C., November 2, 1795.
His ancestors, who bore the name of Pollock,
emigrated from the north of Ireland early in the
eighteenth century. Polk graduated at the
University of North Carolina in 1818; then studied
law with Felix Grundy (q.v.) of Tennessee, and
was admitted to the bar in 1820. Three years
later he was elected a member of the Legislature
of Tennessee, and soon afterwards (1825) was
sent to Congress by the Democratic Party, serving
as Speaker in the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth
Congresses. In Congress he won distinction
by his industrious habits and readiness in debate.
During the administration of President Jackson
he was one of his chief supporters, and gave
the same loyal support to Jackson's successor,
Martin Van Buren. As Speaker it devolved upon
him to preside over the deliberations of the
Representatives at a time when party feelings were
bitter, and his rulings were frequently appealed
from, although usually sustained by the House.
After fourteen years in Congress he was, in 1839,
elected Governor of Tennessee, and was nominated
for the office again in 1841 and 1843, but was
each time defeated by the Whig candidate.
Nevertheless, his standing among his party associates
was not impaired, and when the vigorous opposition
to Van Buren made impossible the latter's

nomination for the Presidency in 1844, especially
under the rule which required a majority of
two-thirds of all the delegates to the national
convention to nominate, Polk was introduced as a
compromise candidate and was unanimously
nominated on the ninth ballot. The Whig
candidate, Henry Clay, had compromised himself
in some sections by his attitude in regard to
the annexation of Texas, while the Democratic
platform was moderately acceptable to both
North and South through its advocacy of the
reoccupation of Oregon and the reannexation of
Texas. Polk received 170 electoral votes, as
against 105 for Clay. George M. Dallas was
elected Vice-President. During his term the Oregon
boundary dispute was settled with England,
the United States accepting the parallel of 49°
as the northern limit, though the party cry which
helped to elect Polk was a claim for the entire
territory to latitude 54° 40' N. A dispute
regarding the boundary of Texas caused, in
1846, a war with Mexico, which resulted in the
acquisition, through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
(q.v.), of California and New Mexico.
The chief event of President Polk's internal
administration was the enactment of the tariff law
of 1846, which was based on the principles of
tariff for revenue only, and the establishment
of the independent treasury system. The President
set himself against the internal improvement
mania by vetoing a river and harbor bill,
which appropriated a large sum for improvement
purposes. As regards the slavery
question, the debate over the ../Wilmot Proviso/ (q.v.)
and over the bill to organize the Territory of
Oregon were the most notable events. In private
life President Polk was unostentatious, frank,
and courteous. His habits were extremely
simple, and his character was blameless. He died at
Nashville, Tenn., June 15, 1849. His biography,
including especially a review of his administration,
was written by J. S. Jenkins (Auburn,
1850). A number of his manuscripts and other
papers have recently been acquired by the Chicago
Historical Society, and his MS. diary may
be found in the Lenox Library, New York City.
See .