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Collection James K. Polk Papers

Timeline

A chronology of key events in the life of James K. Polk (1795-1849), eleventh president of the United States.

James K. Polk (1795-1849)

  1. 1795, Nov. 2

    Born in Mecklenburg County, N.C., eldest child of Samuel Polk and Jane Knox Polk

  2. 1806

    Family moved near Columbia, Maury County, Tenn.

  3. 1812

    Dr. Ephraim McDowell performed surgery on Polk in Danville, Ky., to remove urinary stones

  4. 1813

    Attended Zion Church Academy near Columbia, Tenn.

  5. ca. 1814

    Attended Bradley Academy, Murfreesboro, Tenn.

  6. 1816-1818

    Attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 1818

  7. 1818

    Returned to Tennessee and studied law under Felix Grundy

  8. 1819-1823

    Chief clerk, Tennessee state senate

  9. 1820

    Admitted to the Tennessee state bar and began legal practice in Columbia, Tenn.

  10. 1821

    Joined local militia

  11. 1823

    Elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives

  12. 1824, Jan. 1

    Married Sarah Childress (1803-1891), daughter of Joel Childress and Elizabeth Whitsitt Childress, at Murfreesboro, Tenn.

  13. 1825-1839

    Served seven terms as a Democrat representing Maury County in the U.S. House of Representatives; staunch supporter in Congress of President Andrew Jackson

  14. 1827

    Appointed to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

  15. 1832

    Appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee

  16. 1833

    Chairman, Ways and Means Committee, U.S. House of Representatives

  17. 1834

    Lost bid to become Speaker of the House to John Bell

    Purchased plantation in Yalobusha County, Miss., with Silas Caldwell

  18. 1835

    Contributed to the establishment of Nashville Union newspaper, Nashville, Tenn.

  19. 1835-1839

    Speaker, U. S. House of Representatives

  20. 1837

    Accompanied former president Andrew Jackson on his return to Nashville, Tenn.

  21. 1839-1841

    Governor of Tennessee

  22. 1841

    Defeated for reelection as governor of Tennessee in August

    Returned to Columbia, Tenn., in November

  23. 1843

    Defeated in Tennessee gubernatorial election in August

  24. 1844

    Announced his support of the annexation of Texas by the United States

    Nominated on May 29 as the Democratic Party’s candidate for president

    Given nickname “Young Hickory” by the press for his support of “Old Hickory” Andrew Jackson’s policies

    Elected president of the United States in November; pledged to serve only one term

  25. 1845

    Inaugurated as eleventh president on March 4

    Shared with Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft the four goals of his presidential administration: reducing the tariff; establishing an independent treasury; settling the Oregon boundary question; and acquiring California.

    Appointed John Slidell to negotiate with Mexico the purchase of California and other territory in the southwest and to resolve the southern boundary of Texas

    Term “manifest destiny” first introduced in the press; phrase became associated with the territorial expansionist policy of the Polk administration

    Signed bill admitting Texas into the United States

  26. 1846

    Ordered General Zachary Taylor to station troops near the Rio Grande River in Texas as a result of the border dispute and diplomatic conflict with Mexico.

    At request of President Polk, Congress declared war on Mexico on May 13, after Mexican army attacked Zachary Taylor’s forces in April near the Rio Grande River in Texas.

    Signed Buchanan-Pakenham Treaty with Great Britain on June 15, which set the northern boundary of the Oregon Territory at the forty-ninth parallel; ratified by the Senate on June 17

    Signed the “Walker Tariff” reduction bill in July

    Vetoed a rivers and harbors bill appropriating federal funds for internal improvement projects, arguing that the bill was unconstitutional.

    Signed Independent or “Constitutional” Treasury bill establishing an independent treasury for U.S. government funds

  27. 1847

    Attended the cornerstone laying of the Smithsonian Institution building (now known as “The Castle”) on May 1

    Purchased Felix Grundy home in Nashville, Tenn., which became known as Polk Place

    Toured northeastern states

  28. 1848

    Signed Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the Mexican War by which Mexico agreed to set the southern boundary of Texas at the Rio Grande River and to cede California and New Mexico territories to the United States. The United States paid $15 million to Mexico for the territory and assumed responsibility for debts claimed by Americans against Mexico.

    Attended cornerstone laying of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., on July 4

  29. 1849

    Signed bill creating the Department of the Interior

    Completed term as president on Sunday, March 4. The public inauguration of Zachary Taylor as president occurred on Monday, March 5, since the traditional inauguration day of March 4 fell on a Sunday.

    Left Washington, D.C., on March 6

    Returned to Tennessee after a tour through southern states

  30. 1849, June 15

    Died in Nashville, Tenn., after the shortest presidential retirement in American history. Interred in temporary vault in Nashville City Cemetery

  31. 1850

    Remains transferred to tomb at Polk Place

  32. 1893

    Remains of James K. Polk and Sarah C. Polk transferred to the grounds of the Tennessee state capitol in Nashville