The James K. Polk Administration

Best remembered for his expansionist foreign policies that brought the United States into war with Mexico (1846–48), Polk also presided over one of the most far-reaching and successful domestic legislative agendas in the nineteenth century. The first dark horse candidate (a politician who unexpectedly receives a nomination) of a major party to become president, Polk dominated his cabinet and the Congress with a brand of executive leadership not seen since his mentor and friend Andrew Jackson occupied the White House.

Polk Becomes President

The Campaign of 1844

The election of James K. Polk as president in 1844 was one of the most surprising events in the annals of U.S. election history. While he had been considered as a possible...