#11 James K Polk (Aka Andrew Jackson's Mini-me ): Got shit done! (1845–49).

July 5, 2017

"Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America" by Walter R. Borneman 2008

Why is he ranked so highly?

James K Polk is often listed as a top ten president.  Yet I was skeptical about that before reading this book and sort of lumped him with the duds that seemed to pass through the office in the early  to mid 1800's. I also knew he was a slave holder and wanted to pigeon hole him as a horrible person.   But I was selling him so short. The following quote sums up the justification for his top ten position.  "First, Polk accomplished the objectives of his presidential term as he defined them; second, he was the most decisive chief executive prior to the civil war; and third, he greatly expanded the executive power of the presidency, particularly its war powers, its role as commander in chief and its oversight of the executive branch.  "
Early Life
Polk was raised in Tennessee  surrounded by the large Polk clan who were much involved with land and slave owning.  James was a sickly child due to a case of "urinary stones" that required dangerous surgery at the age of 17 and which probably left him sterile.  (Tough guy had surgery without anesthesia!!)  😬😬😬  After graduating from the University of North Carolina, he then passed the bar and moved to Nashville, where he got the politics bug.   Polk then ran for the Tennessee legislature- partly  to impress and win Sarah Childress as his wife.  Her close family links to Andrew Jackson sealed Jackson's lifetime support of Polk and lead to Polk's total support of Jacksonian policies.  Thus began Polk's slightly creepy worship of Jackson - in fact he loved being called "Young Hickory" . 
Early Politics
Polk was then elected to 8 terms as a US congressman from Tennessee.  His presidential papers noted how much cider, whisky and brandy were purchased for voters on election day for that office. (Imagine how voter turnout would be today if they served those at the voting booths!!)  One of the biggest issues in the early 1830's was the problems caused by the electoral college and the need to abolish it. (Seriously!)  To prep for a future presidential run, he became Governor of Tennessee but then lost reelection to that office twice.  He was a loyal democratic party man but that loyalty was not always returned by his party .
Election to Presidency
Polk really just had his mind on being vice president in the 1844 election.  However, when Andrew Jackson pulled his support from Martin Van Buren , who was against bringing Texas into the union,  Polk then got the Democratic nomination- pretty much just based on Jackson's influence . (Very weird to me that Jackson had just sort of anointed the next president.)  Polk was a diehard and vocal proponent on the issue of Texas AND Oregon joining the union and the expansion of the US to the Pacific.  When he was elected in 1844,  at the age of 49 he was the youngest president to date but he pledged to serve only one term.  Jackson died shortly after Polk's election.
Presidency
Polk immediately finished the process of joining Texas to the union and then quickly provoked a war with Mexico to seize the rest of the southwest and California.  In fact, congress felt Polk overstepped his presidential authority by inciting the Mexicans to attack THEN asking congress to rubber stamp the action with a declaration of war.  This war with Mexico lasted much longer  than planned and became unpopular, even though the US was largely undefeated and lost significantly less men then Mexico. The main problem was the constant turnover in the Mexican presidents office, so negotiations were constantly having to start over.  Polk  even paid Santa Anna to return from exile so the US could negotiate with him, but then Santa Anna double crossed him and continued the war.  But considering how much land we won, I can see why Mexico has never fought us again.

Polk developed some powerful enemies through the years, Henry Clay, Thomas Hart Benton, John C Fremont.  Polk also was  frequently invoking executive privilege to negotiate with Mexico and withhold information about the war from congress. His veto on the new idea of adding "pork" to bills also did not help him win friends in congress.   He was also a micromanager who trusted little to his subordinates.  In fact, he literally worked himself to death- dying two months after leaving office.  His death by gastroenteritis was probably from the nasty drinking water in the White House.
  Conclusion
Under Polk  the US expanded its size by about 30%,  established an independent US treasury structure that lasted until 1913, and reduced tariffs to make imported goods more affordable.  Most impressive, he still kept the tariffs at a level that protected American businesses.  However, he  consistently avoided the issue of slavery and deliberately kept his own slave owning/selling very low key.  He did add a line to his will encouraging Sarah to free their slaves after her death.  

This biography was enjoyable to read but I really felt like it missed the opportunity to tell more about his personal life.  Seeing how absolutely blindly devoted he was to Andrew Jackson and his ideas, it is difficult for me to tell if he really believed it or just followed Jackson like some sort of lapdog.   Also, if Jackson would have lived during Polk's presidency, I wonder how independent he would have been.  He was obviously very intelligent and determined but could also be sort of underhanded and secretive.   But overall, I can see why he makes the top ten.