James K. Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina on November 2, 1795. The Polk family (the original family name was Pollock) came to Maryland in 1680 and gradually moved southward to North Carolina. In 1806, when James was eleven years old, the Polk family moved to Tennessee where James' father was a farmer and surveyor. Young James attended nearby academics and in 1815 entered the sophomore class at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated in 1818 with high honors.

Polk returned to Tennessee and practiced law until his election as president. His success as a lawyer brought him into politics and his speeches won him the nickname "Napoleon of the Stump". He was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives when he married Sarah Childress in 1822.

In 1825 Polk was elected to the first of his seven terms in Congress and in 1835 he was chosen Speaker of the House. He refused renomination for Congress in 1839 to become a successful Democratic candidate for the governor of Tennessee. In 1840 public sentiment began to favor the Whigs, and consequently in 1841 and 1843 Polk was defeated in his attempt to be re-elected governor of Tennessee.Polk was the first "dark horse" in American politics when he was the party's choice over Martin Van Buren as the Democratic nominee for president against Henry Clay, the Whig nominee. The chief issues of the 1844 campaign were the re-annexation of Texas and the re-occupation of Oregon, both of which Polk favored. With a strong stand on these issues and the battlecry, "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight", Polk rode into the White House.

Determined and stubborn, Polk came into the office of president with a clear-cut program. "There are four great measures which are to be the measures of my administration one, a reduction of the tariff; another the independent treasury; a third, the settlement of the Oregon boundary question; and lastly, the acquisition of California". All of these ambitions were fulfilled within Polk's four-year term.

Polk regarded the Texas question settled. Texas had been annexed to the United States, but Mexico had not recognized the annexation. Mexico insisted that the Nueces River was the legal boundary between Mexico and Texas. The Texans, supported by Polk, insisted that Texas extended to the Rio Grande.

In May, 1846, after a clash between Mexican and American troops, Congress recognized the existence of a state of war "by act of the Republic of Mexico". The war with Mexico (1846 - 1848) ended after more than a year of fighting and Mexico ceded Texas to the United States.

During the Polk administration over 800,000 square miles of territory were acquired by the United States. Three new states were admitted to the Union; Texas in 1845, Iowa in 1846, and Wisconsin in 1848. Oregon was organized as a territory in 1848. In 1849 California, although no yet admitted to the Union, organized its own government. During these years the Mormon state of Utah was established and settled.

There were many reasons for national prosperity during Polk's administration - the demands of the war, the discovery of gold in California, increased immigration, and the numerous mechanical inventions, of which the sewing machine was probably the most important.

In accepting the nomination for president in 1844, Polk had declared that he would not be a candidate for re-election in 1848. He held firmly to his word and when Zachary Taylor became president Polk retired to his home in Nashville, Tennessee, where he died on June 15, 1849.

Internet Biographies
James K. Polk -- from The Presidents of the United States of America

Compiled by the White House.

James Polk -- from The American Presidency

Grolier Online has created this resource from its collection of print articles in Encyclopedia Americana. Contains a full biography, written by Charles Sellers of the University of California, along with suggestions for further reading.

200 Candles and a Postage Stamp -- by Jenny Nash

Article celebrating the 200th birthday of Polk and the U.S. stamp commemorating that event. Composed from quotes by Dr. Wayne Cutler, head of the Polk Presidential Papers Project at the University of Tennessee -- Knoxville, this article gives a unique perspective into the life of James Polk and his family.

James Knox Polk -- from People in THE WEST

Based on the documentary THE WEST by Ken Burns and Stephen Ives, this biographical sketch focuses on Polk's role in expanding the U.S. borders westward.

James Knox Polk -- from the Hall of Forgotten Presidents

A case for considering Polk as one of the "near-great" presidents.

Postal Service Honors James K. Polk on 200th Birthday -- from the United States Postal Service

Press release on the James K. Polk stamp. Includes a biography with a useful list of accomplishments located at the end of the release.

James K. Polk -- from the North Carolina Encyclopedia

A very text-rich biography on this North Carolina native.

Historical Documents
Inaugural Address (1845)