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Manuscript/Mixed Material Diary Entry of James K. Polk, March 5, 1849.

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About this Item

Title

  • Diary Entry of James K. Polk, March 5, 1849.

Names

  • Polk, James K., 1795-1849 (Author)

Created / Published

  • March 5, 1849

Headings

  • -  Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850
  • -  Diary entry

Genre

  • Diary entry.

Notes

  • -  Forms part of James K. Polk papers, 1775-1891; for additional information, see: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms009178
  • -  President Polk writes in his diary about events on his last day in office and the inaugural ceremonies of his successor, General Zachary Taylor. President-elect Taylor, with a military escort, collected President Polk in his carriage at the Irving Hotel and they proceeded first to the Senate Chamber, then to the east portico of the Capitol, where General Taylor read his inaugural address "in a very low voice, and very badly as to his pronunciation and manner," and then was sworn into office by the chief justice. Afterward, in his hotel, Polk records his alarm at Taylor's conversation about California and Arizona on the way to the Capitol, as it was President-elect Taylor's opinion that they should have an "Independent Government" and not be part of the Union. Mr. Polk later describes receiving well-wishers at his hotel until eleven o'clock at night when, accompanied by a few friends, he and Mrs. Polk boarded a steamboat that would take them to their home in Tennessee.
  • -  Diary Entry of James K. Polk, March 5, 1849.
  • -  Original document scanned in 1999-2000 for the former American Memory presentation “I Do Solemnly Swear”: Presidential Inaugurations (retired 2016).

Source Collection

  • James K. Polk papers, 1775-1891

Repository

  • Manuscript Division

Online Format

  • image

Rights & Access

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Polk, James K. Diary Entry of James K. Polk, March 5. March 5, 1849. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/pin1702/.

APA citation style:

Polk, J. K. (1849) Diary Entry of James K. Polk, March 5. March 5. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/pin1702/.

MLA citation style:

Polk, James K. Diary Entry of James K. Polk, March 5. March 5, 1849. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/pin1702/>.