 |
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,
election to the office of President of the United States is declared upon counting electoral votes (cast 4 Dec 1844),
joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives, House Chamber, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [1] |
|
4 Mar 1845,
commencement of term |
|
4 Mar 1845,
took an oath of office as 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. |
