OVERVIEW:
FULL NAME:
James Knox Polk
NICKNAME:
Young Hickory
BORN:
November 2, 1795,
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
DIED:
June 15, 1849 (age 53)
Nashville, Tennessee
EDUCATION:
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA, 1818)
POLITICAL PARTY:
Democrat,
Jacksonian
HIGHLIGHTS:
1806:
Moved to Tennessee
1820:
Admitted to the Bar,
Began practicing law in Columbia Tennessee
1821-1823:
Chief Clerk of the Tennessee State Senate
1823:
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
1825-1839:
Member, U.S. House of Representatives
1833-1835:
Chairman, House Ways & Means Committee
1835-1839:
Speaker of the House of Representatives
1839-1841:
Governor of Tennessee
1845-1849:
11th President of the United States
FIRST LADY:
VICE PRESIDENT:
RESOURCES:
BIOGRAPHIES:
White House
Biographical Directory of Congress
UVA Miller Center
The Polk Home
Wikipedia
PAPERS:
The Polk Project (University of Tennessee)
The Polk Project (Online Edition)
Library of Congress
American Presidency Project (Public Papers)
Diary of James Polk During His Presidency
Polk: The Diary of a President (Abridged)
NOTABLE BOOKS:
1844 ELECTION:
DEMOCRATIC:
JAMES K. POLK (PRESIDENT)
GEORGE M. DALLAS (VICE PRESIDENT)
Electoral Vote: 170 (61.8%)
Popular Vote: 1,339.494 (49.5%)
WHIG:
HENRY CLAY (PRESIDENT)
THEODORE FRELINGHUYSEN (VICE PRESIDENT)
Electoral Vote: 105 (38.2%)
Popular Vote: 1,300,004 (48.1%)
1845 INAUGURATION:
1845 Address
Library of Congress
Joint Congressional Inaugural Committee
POLK ADMINISTRATION:
ATTORNEY GENERAL:
John Y. Mason (1845–1846)
Nathan Clifford (1846–1848
Isaac Toucey (1848–1849)
SECRETARY OF THE NAVY:
George Bancroft (1845–1846)
John Y. Mason (1846–1849)
POSTMASTER GENERAL:
Cave Johnson (1845–1849)
SECRETARY OF STATE:
James Buchanan (1845–1849)
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY:
Robert J. Walker (1845–1849)
SECRETARY OF WAR:
William L. Marcy (1845–1849)
SUPREME COURT NOMINEES:
Robert C. Grier (1846-1870)
Levi Woodbury (1845-1851)
George W. Woodward (Rejected by Senate)
CONGRESS:
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE:
John W. Davis (1845-1847)
Robert C. Winthrop (1847-1849)
HISTORIC SITES:
ARTICLES:
Moving of Grave (NYT, 3/24/2017)