Making History Come Alive offers one of the most underrated Presidents James Polk, had a significant impact on expansion of the United States
James K. Polk was the 11th President of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He was a Democrat who is often overshadowed by more well-known presidents like George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, but his presidency had a significant impact on the expansion and development of the United States.
One of Polk's most notable achievements was the annexation of Texas in 1845. Texas had declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 and had been an independent republic for nearly a decade before being admitted to the Union as the 28th state. Polk, a strong supporter of Manifest Destiny, believed that it was America's destiny to expand from coast to coast and saw the annexation of Texas as a step towards fulfilling that destiny.
Another major accomplishment of Polk's presidency was the negotiation of the Oregon Treaty with Great Britain in 1846. The Oregon Territory, which encompassed present-day Oregon, Washington, and parts of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, had been jointly occupied by the United States and Britain since the Treaty of 1818. Polk campaigned on a platform of securing the entire territory for the United States, with the slogan "Fifty-four forty or fight!" referring to the northern boundary of the territory. In the end, Polk settled for a compromise with Britain, establishing the 49th parallel as the boundary between the United States and British-held territory.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Polk's presidency was the Mexican-American War, which began in 1846 and ended in 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The war was sparked by a dispute over the southern boundary of Texas, with Polk claiming that the border was the Rio Grande while Mexico asserted that it was the Nueces River. American forces under General Zachary Taylor crossed the Rio Grande, leading to a declaration of war by Mexico. The war ended with the United States acquiring vast territories in the Southwest, including present-day California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
Despite his accomplishments, Polk's presidency was not without criticism. His expansionist policies and the acquisition of Mexican territory were seen as aggressive and imperialistic by many, and the war with Mexico was opposed by prominent figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Henry David Thoreau. Additionally, the war exacerbated tensions between the North and South over the issue of slavery, as the new territories acquired from Mexico raised questions about whether they would be free or slave states.