James Knox POLK

President

James K Polk | 11th US PRESIDENT

US President: 1845-1849
US Vice President: George Dallas
Political Party: Democratic
Birth: November 2, 1795
Death: June 15, 1849
Education: University of North Carolina

Offices held:
11th President of the United States (1845 – 1849)
9th Governor of Tennessee (1839 – 1841)
13th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1835 – 1839)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee’s 9th district (1833 – 1839)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee’s 6th district (1825 – 1833)

First Family
First Ladies: Sarah Childress (m. 1824 – 1849)
Pictures of Sarah Polk from the Library of Congress

Biographies
Biography from Biography.com
Biography from NCpedia
Congressional Biography

Photos
Pictures from the Library of Congress

Genealogy
Ancestors and Descendants of James K. Polk
The Knox Family

Facts about James Polk

  • After graduation, he did apprenticeship under Felix Grundy, who was a well-known Nashville trial attorney.
  • His nickname was a Young Hickory.
  • At his inaugural ball, the dancing and music was prohibited, due to his wife’s religious conviction and only when the presidential couple left, the merriment began.
  • James K. Polk increased the size of the United States more than any other president through the acquisition of California and New Mexico as a result of the Mexican-American War.
  • He was also an extremely effective leader during the Mexican-American War.
  • In the 1844 presidential elections, Polk was counted as the front-runner for the post of Vice President on the Democratic ticket, whereas Martin Van Buren was being eyed as their presidential candidate.
  • On March 4, 1845, at the age of 49, he became the youngest American President of that time.
  • He pressurized Great Britain, to resolve the ownership issue of the Oregon territory and was able to get the Oregon Treaty of 1846 signed.
  • In March, 1849, as one of his last presidential acts he created the Department of the Interior.
  • His term as President of the United States ended on March 4, 1849 and as promised he did not run for the second term.
  • The United States Postal Service, provides several stamps to honor Polk, most current available in 1995 on Polk’s 200th birth anniversary.
  • Polk’s last words illustrate his devotion to his wife: “”I love you, Sarah. For all eternity, I love you.””

James Polk Childhood

James Knox Polk was born on November 2, 1795, in a log cabin in Mecklenburg, North Carolina. As a boy, Polk, the eldest of 10 children, moved with his family to Columbia, Tennessee, where his father became a prosperous land surveyor, planter and businessman.

Moreover, the surgery before the advent of modern antiseptics and anesthesia; Polk had brandy as a sedative. Also, a top student, Polk graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1818 and studied law under a leading Nashville attorney.

Where is James Polk buried?

The tomb of James Polk resides on the grounds of Polk Place. Also, in 1893, the bodies of President and Mrs. Polk were exhumed and relocated to their current resting place on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville.

How did James Polk die?

Finally, he died of cholera at his new home, Polk Place, in Nashville, Tennessee, at 3:15 pm on June 15, 1849, three months after leaving office.”

James Knox POLK Biography

POLK, James Knox, (brother of William Hawkins Polk), a Representative from Tennessee and 11th President of the United States; born near Little Sugar Creek, Mecklenburg County, N.C., November 2, 1795; moved to Tennessee in 1806 with his parents, who settled in what later became Maury County; attended the common schools and was tutored privately; graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1818; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1820 and commenced practice in Columbia, Tenn.; chief clerk of the state senate 1821-1823; member of the state house of representatives 1823-1825; elected as a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth through the Twenty-fourth Congresses and reelected as a Democrat to the Twenty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1825-March 3, 1839);

Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means (Twenty-third Congress); Speaker of the House of Representatives (Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Congresses); did not seek renomination in 1838 having become a candidate for governor; governor of Tennessee 1839-1841; elected as a Democrat as President of the United States in 1844; inaugurated on March 4, 1845, and served until March 3, 1849; declined to be a candidate for renomination; died in Nashville, Tenn., June 15, 1849; interment within the grounds of the state capitol.

 

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