 |
James Knox Polk
b. 2 Nov 1795, near Little Sugar Creek, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
d. 15 Jun 1849, Nashville, Tennessee |
| Title: |
President of the United States |
| Term: |
4 Mar 1845 - 4 Mar 1849 |
| Chronology: |
12 Feb 1845,
the election to the office of the President of the United States is declared upon the ascertainment and counting of the electoral vote (cast 4 Dec 1844),
joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives, House Chamber, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [1] |
|
4 Mar 1845,
commencement of term |
|
4 Mar 1845,
took the oath of office as the President of the United States, inaugural ceremony as part of the special session of the Senate, East Portico, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [2] |
|
4 Mar 1849,
expiration of term |
| Biography: |
| 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, Tennessee; chief clerk of the State senate (1821-1823); member of the State House of Representatives (1823-1825); elected to the 19th Congress; reelected as a Jacksonian to the 20th through 24th Congresses and as a Democrat to the 25th Congress (4 Mar 1825 - 4 Mar 1839); chairman, Committee on Ways and Means (23rd Congress); Speaker of the House of Representatives (7 Dec 1835 - 4 Mar 1839); did not seek renomination in 1838 having become a candidate for Governor; Governor of the State of Tennessee (14 Oct 1839 - 14 Oct 1841); elected as a Democrat as President of the United States in 1844; administration was marked by large territorial gains; annexation of Texas (19 Feb 1846); two-year war with Mexico (1846-1847); acquired territories in the Southwest and far West (California); passed Walker Tariff Act (1846) to lower import duties; Oregon compromise (1846) established the international frontier at the 49th parallel; declined to be a candidate for renomination; died three months after the expiration of presidential term. |
| Biographical sources: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (2005). |
| Elections: |
| Candidate |
Electoral vote (4 Dec 1844) |
| James Knox Polk |
170 |
| Henry Clay |
105 |
| total number of electors appointed |
275 |
| number of votes for a majority |
138 |
|
| Source of electoral results: Congressional Globe, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, 277; House Journal, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, 372.
|
| |
| [1] |
Congressional Globe, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, 277; House Journal, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, 371-373. |
| [2] |
Senate Executive Journal, vol. VI, 411-422; Congressional Globe, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, 397-400. |
|
Image: daguerreotype by Mathew Brady. |
