Rachel Carson

They sometimes referred to this in their letters as putting their letters "into the strong box.". Supreme Court:. The record is incomplete, according to Martha Freeman, because Carson and Freeman destroyed some of their correspondence. Polk appointed the following Justices to the U.S. I want him to know what you mean to me.
. And darling, I hope I made it clear in my little note that I was so glad you read him the letter--or parts of it. The song is a surprisingly complete account of his presidential nomination and subsequent career, ending with a lament of his continued obscurity.

Carson spoke of Dorothy's sharing of their letters with her husband Stanley:. It originally appeared on their 1990 ep Istanbul (Not Constantinople) as a b-side, and later appeared with the same lyrics but a different musical arrangement on their 1996 album Factory Showroom. Others have countered these claims, observing among other things that Dorothy Freeman was married. Polk," by American pop group They Might Be Giants. And as for you, my dear one, there is not a single thing about you that I would change if I could! Once written, that seems an odd thing to say; I am trying to express my complete and overflowing happiness in the whole thing!. Polk is the subject of a song, "James K. I do hope that for you, as they truly are for me, the memories of Wednesday are completely unclouded by any sense of disappointment, or of hopes unrealized. Polk.

Reality can so easily fall short of hopes and expectations, especially where they have been high. When the Missouri legislature acted to create the county, they chose to honor the then current Speaker of the House, James K. And let me say again how truly perfect it all was. Polk County, Missouri, founded in 1835, was originally named in honor of a Revolutionary War hero Ezekiel Polk. You don't need to answer that, for I think I know. Polk County, Nebraska was the fourth county founded West of the Missouri River in 1870. And I wondered if perhaps, in the same sense, I stayed in West Bridgewater that night. Polk County, Florida was founded ten years later in 1861.

...As I told you, you were always with me when I wakened in the night--and I did often, not being a very good train sleeper--and always the sense of your presence, and of your sweet tenderness, and love was very real to me. Polk County in Northwest Georgia, was founded in 1851. In their correspondence, Rachel addressed Dorothy as "darling" or "dearest", and the letters were replete with sentiments like the following, quoted from a letter dated 1 January 1954:. These include Polk County, Oregon, originally established in 1845. The claim arises from correspondence between Carson and Freeman, since published by Dorothy Freeman's granddaughter Martha in the book Always Rachel: the letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952-1964, an intimate portrait of a remarkable friendship. A number of United States counties are named after Polk. In recent years, Rachel Carson has been adopted as a lesbian icon, based on the controversial claim that she carried on a long-term lesbian relationship with her friend Dorothy Freeman, spanning the final twelve years of her life. President Polk is also notable for his support for the concept of Manifest Destiny—the idea that it was the United States' divine mission to expand westward—and for his affirmation of the Monroe Doctrine—the doctrine, first propounded by President James Monroe in 1823, that the Americas should be free from European colonization or other interference.

The National Academy of Sciences stated in 1965 that “in a little more than two decades, DDT has prevented 500 million [human] deaths that would otherwise have been inevitable.” While Silent Spring remains a founding text for the contemporary environmental movement and an important work to this day, Carson has also been blamed for, in effect, reviving the malaria plague that had largely been wiped out in the Third World. Disputes over slavery in the West, together with other inflammatory events of the 1850s, contributed to the American Civil War, which began in 1861. Supporters argue strongly for its use in selective environments. The Compromise of 1850, however, failed to satisfy extremists on both sides. The issue of DDT use is quite different in Third World counties, where it is frequently used to control malarial insects. The Compromise of 1850 temporarily settled the dispute; California was admitted to the Union as a "free state," while the other territories carved out of the Mexican Cession were allowed to permit or prohibit slavery as they saw fit. The evidence in this proceeding supports the conclusion that there is a present need for the essential uses of DDT.” However, two months later, the head of the EPA, William Ruckelshaus, overturned Judge Sweeney's decision, saying that DDT was a “potential human carcinogen,” and banned its use. Though the House passed the Proviso on numerous occasions, it was blocked by southern Senators.

The uses of DDT under the regulations involved here do not have a deleterious effect on freshwater fish, estuarine organisms, wild birds, or other wildlife.. territory acquired in the course of the war. After seven months of testimony, EPA Administrative Law Judge Edmund Sweeney determined, “DDT is not a carcinogenic hazard to man.. In 1846, Congressman David Wilmot of Pennsylvania introduced a proposal known as the Wilmot Proviso, which would have outlawed slavery in any U.S. In 1980 she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the USA. Polk's actions in relation to Mexico involved significant consequences for the United States. She died on 14 April 1964 at the age of fifty-six. Moreover, his decision to send Zachary Taylor into disputed territory, and his subsequent justification of the Mexican-American War, have been condemned by many historians.

However, she never did live to see the banning of DDT, an issue that she had fought so passionately for. One could argue, however, that Polk failed to acquire the whole of the Oregon Country, as he promised during his campaign. Her health had been steadily declining since she had been diagnosed with breast cancer halfway through the writing of “Silent Spring.” In one of her last public appearances, Carson testified before a Senate investigative committee. Many historians rank Polk as a near-great President, certainly the greatest between Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln lauding the extent of his achievements in a single term: Polk had attained all four of his primary policy objectives. Carson received hundreds of speaking invitations, but was unable to accept the great majority of them. Both James and Sarah are buried in a tomb on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol Building, in Nashville. Later that year she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and received many other honors and awards, including the Audubon Medal and the Cullen Medal of the American Geographical Society. His post-presidential life was, furthermore, the shortest in the history of the United States.

Pesticide use became a major public issue, helped by Carson's April 1963 appearance on a CBS TV special with the soft-spoken Carson in debate with a chemical company spokesman. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated during their presidencies. In their ugly campaign to reduce a brave scientist's protest to a matter of public relations, the chemical interests had only increased public awareness.” [1]. Garfield and John F. As Time Magazine recalls, within a year or so of publication, "all but the most self-serving of Carson's attackers were backing rapidly toward safer ground. He was the youngest President to die, until James A. Silent Spring was positively reviewed by many outside of the agricultural and chemical fields, and it became a runaway best seller both in the USA and overseas. For all eternity, I love you." She lived at Polk Place for over forty years after his passing, a retirement longer than that of any other First Lady of the United States.

Houghton Mifflin was pressured to suppress the book, but did not succumb. Polk's devotion to his wife is illustrated by his last words: "I love you, Sarah. These chemical companies called her unprofessional and even accused of her of being a communist. Polk died only 103 days after leaving the White House, at his new home, Polk Place, in Nashville, Tennessee, at 3:15 on the afternoon of Friday, June 15, 1849. Scientists, chemical companies and other critics attacked the data and interpretation in the book, and some went further to attack Carson's scientific credentials. Although Polk expected a peaceful retirement, he contracted cholera in New Orleans, Louisiana on a good will tour of the South. A huge counterattack was organized and led by Monsanto, Velsicol, American Cyanamid - indeed, the whole chemical industry - duly supported by the Agriculture Department as well as the more cautious in the media. He was succeeded in office by the hero of the Mexican-American War, the Whig General Zachary Taylor.

Carson was violently assailed by threats of lawsuits and derision, including suggestions that this meticulous scientist was a "hysterical woman" unqualified to write such a book. Full of enthusiasm and vigor when he entered office, Polk left the White House on March 4, 1849, exhausted by his years of public service. As Time Magazine recounted in 1999:. He became more tired and lost weight, and deep lines and dark circles etched his face. Even before Silent Spring was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, there was strong opposition to it. Polk is very arguably the only president ever to keep all of his campaign promises, however these considerable political accomplishments took their toll on his health. Silent Spring became a detailed chronicle of the association between wildlife mortality and over-use of pesticides like dieldrin, toxaphene, heptachlor, and DDT, but it was no mere dry recital of the facts and figures: Carson's writing was as lyrical and evocative as it was precise. The war involved less than 20,000 American casualties, but over 50,000 Mexican ones; it had cost the United States nearly $100 million.

Now, as a renowned scientist, she was able to ask for (and receive) the aid of prominent biologists, chemists, pathologists, and entomologists. Mexico, in turn, received the sum of $15 million. Carson decided it would be more effective to raise the issue in a popular magazine; however, publishers were uninterested, and eventually the project became a book instead. The treaty also recognised the annexation of Texas, and acknowledged American control over the disputed territory between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. The letter asked Carson to use her influence with government authorities to begin an investigation into pesticide use. California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming were all carved from the Mexican Cession. The four-year task of writing Silent Spring began with a letter from the custodian of a Massachusetts bird sanctuary that had been destroyed by aerial spraying of DDT. The treaty added 1.2 million square miles (3,100,000 km²) of territory to the United States; Mexico's size was halved, whilst that of the United States increased by a quarter.

Carson explored the theme of environmental connectedness: although a pesticide is aimed at eliminating one organism, its effects are felt throughout the food chain, and what was intended to poison an insect ends up poisoning larger animals and humans. Trist successfully negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, which Polk agreed to ratify, ignoring calls from Democrats who demanded the annexation of the whole of Mexico. Silent Spring was Carson’s first book focused on the environment, and pesticides in particular. Delays in the process prompted the President to order Trist to return to the United States, but the diplomat ignored the instructions, staying in Mexico to continue bargaining. "What I discovered was that everything which meant most to me as a naturalist was being threatened, and that nothing I could do would be more important.". Polk sent a diplomat named Nicholas Trist to negotiate with the Mexicans. "The more I learned about the use of pesticides, the more appalled I became," she wrote later, explaining her decision to start researching for what would eventually become her most famous work, Silent Spring. Santa Anna's efforts, however, were in vain, as Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott destroyed all resistance.

Starting in the mid-1940s, Carson became concerned about the use of newly invented pesticides, especially DDT. Once he reached Mexico, however, he reneged on his agreement, declared himself President, and tried to fight the American invaders back. This environment was to be a major factor in the choice of her next topic. Santa Anna agreed that, if given safe passage into Mexico, he would attempt to persuade those in power to sell California and New Mexico to the United States. She adopted the boy and, needing a suitable place to raise him, bought a rural property in Maryland. The United States also negotiated a secret arrangement with Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican general and dictator who had been overthrown in 1844. Carson took on that responsibility alongside the continuing one of caring for her mother, who was almost 90 by this time. General Zachary Taylor, at the same time, met with success on the Rio Grande.

Family tragedy struck a third time when one of the nieces she had cared for in the 1940s died at the age of 36, leaving a five-year-old orphan son. Frémont, rebelled against Mexican rule, and established the independent California Republic. Through 1956 and 1957, Carson worked on a number of projects, and wrote articles for popular magazines. Meanwhile, American settlers in California, led by John C. This severely embarrassed Carson: she was appalled at the film's sensational style and distortion of fact, and disassociated herself from it. Kearny. It was also a bestseller, winning further awards, and it was made into an Oscar-winning documentary film. By the summer of 1846, New Mexico had been conquered by American forces under General Stephen W.

With success came financial security, and Carson was able to give up her job in 1952 to concentrate on writing full time: completing the third volume of her sea trilogy, The Edge of the Sea in 1955. Congress easily approved the declaration of war, with many Whigs fearing that they would have lost the support of their constituents had they voted for peace. It remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 86 weeks, was abridged by Reader's Digest, won the National Book Award, and resulted in Carson being awarded two honorary doctorates. Such technical points, however, were largely ignored by the public, especially in the South and the West. Other parts soon appeared in Nature, and Oxford University Press published it in book form as The Sea Around Us. A Whig congressman, future President Abraham Lincoln, introduced the "Spot Resolutions," which demanded that Polk point out the precise "spot" where American blood had been spilt. For some time she had been working on material for a second book: it was rejected by fifteen different magazines before The New Yorker serialized parts of it as A Profile of the Sea in 1951. Polk amended his planned speech and changed his casus belli, stating that Mexico had "invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil." However, he ignored the point that the territory in question was disputed, and did not unequivocally belong to the United States.

Carson rose within the Bureau (by then transformed into the Fish and Wildlife Service), becoming chief editor of publications in 1949. Serendipitously, mere days before Polk intended to make his request to Congress, he received word that Mexican forces had crossed the Rio Grande area and killed eleven American troops. It had the misfortune to be released just a month before the Pearl Harbor raid catapulted America into World War II. As negotiations continued to prove fruitless, Polk prepared to ask Congress for a declaration of war. Several years of working in the evenings resulted in Under the Sea-Wind (1941) which received excellent reviews but was a commercial flop. In January 1846, Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to lead his troops into the area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande—territory that was claimed by both Texas and Mexico. Publishing house Simon & Schuster, impressed by Undersea, contacted Carson and suggested that she expand it into book form. Although Slidell was prepared to offer up to $40 million, the Mexicans, angered by the annexation of Texas, refused to bargain.

(Other sources have it that it was the editor of The Baltimore Sun who made the Atlantic Monthly suggestion - Carson had been supplementing her meager income by writing short articles for that paper for some time.) Carson's family responsibilities further increased that year when her older sister died at the age of 40, and she had to take on responsibility for her two nieces. In 1845, Polk had sent a diplomat, John Slidell, to Mexico to negotiate the purchase of California and New Mexico. To Carson's astonishment and delight, it was accepted, and published as Undersea in 1937. The President turned his attention to the acquisition of California, and in this case, he was prepared to go to war if necessary (see the Mexican-American War). He suggested that she submit it to the Atlantic Monthly. The portion of Oregon acquired by the United States would later form the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and parts of the states of Montana and Wyoming. Early in her career, the head of the Bureau's Division of Scientific Inquiry, who had been instrumental in finding a position for her in the first place, rejected one of Carson's radio scripts because it was "too literary". Although there were many who still clamored for the whole of Oregon, the treaty was approved by the Senate.

At the Bureau, Carson worked on everything from cookbooks to scientific journals, and became known for her ruthless insistence on high standards of writing. The treaty divided the Oregon Country between the two countries along the 49th parallel. In spite of the odds, she outscored all other applicants on the exam and in 1936 became only the second woman to be hired by the Bureau of Fisheries for a full-time, professional position, as a junior aquatic biologist. Polk preferred to accept a compromise offered by the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Aberdeen, and ratified the Oregon Treaty. In the process, she had to overcome resistance to the then-radical idea of having a woman sit for the Civil Service exam. Though he had campaigned on the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight," Polk was not prepared to wage war with the British, especially when the acceptance of Texas into the Union had already made Mexico a hostile power. Bureau of Fisheries as a science writer working on radio scripts. Since 1818, Oregon had been under the joint occupation and control of Britain and the United States; Polk, however, demanded sovereignty over the whole territory.

She took on a part-time position at the U.S. Polk also sought to address the Oregon boundary dispute. Her financial situation, never satisfactory, became worse in 1932 when her father died, leaving Carson to care for her aging mother; this burden made continued doctoral studies impossible. This move, however, angered Mexico, which had offered Texas its independence on the condition that it should not attach itself to any other nation. She continued to study towards her doctoral degree, particularly at the Marine Biological Laboratories in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The Republic of Texas did not accept the offer until later in the year, after Polk entered office; it officially became a part of the Union only on December 29, 1845. Carson taught zoology at Johns Hopkins and at the University of Maryland for several years. Tyler had acted quickly because he feared British designs on Texas.

Despite financial difficulties, she continued her studies in zoology and genetics at Johns Hopkins University, earning a master's degree in zoology in 1932. President Tyler urged Congress to pass a joint resolution admitting Texas to the Union; Congress complied on February 28, 1845. She graduated from the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham College) in 1929 with magna cum laude honors. Before Polk entered office, his predecessor, John Tyler, interpreted his victory as a mandate for the annexation of Texas. Her talent for writing would help her in her new field, as she resolved to "make animals in the woods or waters, where they live, as alive to others as they are to me". The Independent Treasury Act, however, incurred the displeasure of many pro-bank Democrats. She originally went to school to study English but switched her major to biology. After Polk re-established it, the Independent Treasury continued to remain in existence until 1920.

Carson was born in 1907 on a small family farm in the Pittsburgh suburb of Springdale, Pennsylvania. The Independent Treasury, created by the Democrats in 1840, had been abolished by the Whigs in 1841. . In the same year, Polk also approved an enactment restoring the Independent Treasury system, under which government funds were held in the Treasury, rather than in banks or other financial institutions. Silent Spring had an immense effect in the United States, where it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy. Polk's actions were popular in the South and West; however, they earned him the contempt of many protectionists in the Northeast. Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-born zoologist and biologist whose landmark book, Silent Spring, is often credited with having launched the global environmental movement. The new law abandoned ad valorem tariffs; instead, rates were made independent of the monetary value of the product.

Visit and experience first-hand the surroundings that made Rachel Carson a fierce and poetic defender of the natural world. Walker, the Secretary of the Treasury), which represented a substantial reduction of the high Whig-backed Tariff of 1842. The Rachel Carson Homestead The Rachel Carson Homestead Association was formed in 1975 to preserve and restore this National Register historic site and to offer education programs which advance Rachel Carson's environmental ethic. Congress approved the Walker Tariff (named after Robert J. Silent Spring at 40: Rachel Carson’s classic is not aging well Reason Online, 12 June 2002. In 1846, Polk proceeded to carry out his domestic agenda, but at the cost of much discontent in his own party. New York Times obituary. In just four years, he would oversee the accomplishment of all his objectives.

The Mosquito Killer by Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of The Tipping Point and Blink. Resolved to serve only one term, Polk acted swiftly to fulfill his campaign promises. Silent Spring Institute Research on the environment and women's health, especially breast cancer. Polk set four clearly defined goals for his administration: the re-establishment of the independent treasury, the reduction of tariffs, the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute, and the acquisition of California from Mexico. Time magazine's "100 most important people" article on Carson. When he took office on March 4, 1845, Polk, at 49, became the youngest man to assume the presidency up to his time. RachelCarson.org The life and legacy of Rachel Carson. Polk was the first, and as of 2005 the only, former Speaker of the House of Representatives to be elected President.

Dallas, became Vice President. Polk's fellow Democrat, George M. Polk won the popular vote by a margin of over 38,000, and took the Electoral College with 170 votes to Clay's 105. Birney.

Polk won the crucial state of New York, where Clay lost supporters to the third-party candidate James G. In the election, Polk won in the South and West, while Clay drew support in the Northeast. Polk's consistent support for westward expansion—in the words of John O'Sullivan, the "Manifest Destiny" of the United States—proved beneficial to his campaign. His campaign slogan became "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight.".

Polk again vigorously championed the cause of expansion, forcefully suggesting that the United States acquire the entire territory, whose northern boundary was the parallel 54°40'. Another significant campaign issue, also relating to westward expansion, involved control of the Oregon Country, then under the joint occupation of the United States and the United Kingdom. Polk was a strong proponent of immediate annexation, while Clay seemed more equivocal and vacillating. The question of the annexation of Texas, which was at the forefront during the Democratic Convention, once again dominated the campaign.

Tyler, however, had become estranged from his party, and did not seek a second term; Polk's Whig opponent was, instead, Henry Clay of Kentucky. The Whig incumbent, John Tyler, had become President when William Henry Harrison died a month after assuming office. I have never sought it, nor should I feel at liberty to decline it, if conferred upon me by the voluntary suffrages of my fellow citizens.". When advised of his nomination letter, Polk replied: "It has been well observed that the office of President of the United States should neither be sought nor declined.

Polk?". Despite having served as Speaker of the House of Representatives, he was relatively unknown, leading many Whigs to snipe, "Who is James K. The eighth ballot was also indecisive, but on the ninth, the convention unanimously nominated Polk, who had by then obtained Van Buren's endorsement. After six more ballots, when it became clear that Van Buren would not win the required majority, Polk was put forth as a "dark horse" candidate.

Van Buren won a simple majority on the convention's first ballot, but did not attain the two-thirds supermajority required for nomination. Van Buren opposed the annexation, but in doing so lost the support of many Democrats, including Andrew Jackson. The primary point of political contention involved the Republic of Texas, which, after declaring independence from Mexico in 1836, had asked to join the United States. The leading contender for the presidential nomination was former President Van Buren; other candidates included Lewis Cass and James Buchanan.

As the Democratic convention began on May 27, 1844, Polk hoped for the vice-presidential nomination. He challenged Jones in 1843, but was defeated once again. Jones, in 1841. Polk lost his own gubernatorial re-election bid to a Whig, James C.

In the presidential election of 1840, Van Buren was overwhelmingly defeated by a popular Whig, William Henry Harrison. Though he revitalized Democrats in Tennessee, his victory could not put a stop to the political decline of the Democratic Party elsewhere in the nation. Leaving Congress in 1839, Polk became a candidate in the Tennessee gubernatorial election, defeating fellow Democrat Newton Cannon by about 2,500 votes. In 1838, the political situation in Tennessee—where, in 1835, Democrats had lost the governorship for the first time in their party's history—convinced Polk not to seek another term in the House of Representatives.

Van Buren's term was a period of heated political rivalry between the Democrats and the Whigs, with the latter often subjecting Polk to insults, invective, and challenges to duels. Soon after Polk became Speaker in 1835, Jackson left office, to be succeeded by fellow Democrat Martin Van Buren. As Chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, he lent his support to the President in the conflict over the National Bank. This behavior earned him the nickname "Young Hickory," an allusion to Andrew Jackson's sobriquet, "Old Hickory." After Jackson defeated Adams in the presidential election of 1828, Polk rose in prominence, becoming the leader of the pro-Administration faction in Congress.

In Congress, Polk was a firm supporter of Jacksonian principles; he opposed the Second Bank of the United States, favored gold and silver over paper money, and preferred agricultural interests over industrial ones. In his first speech, Polk expressed his belief that the House's decision to choose Adams was a violation of the will of the people; he even proposed (unsuccessfully) that the Electoral College be abolished. Crawford) had obtained a majority of the electoral vote, allowing the House of Representatives to select the victor. Though Jackson had won the popular vote, neither he nor any of the other candidates (John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and William H.

Polk succeeded, but Jackson was defeated. In 1824, Jackson ran for President, while Polk campaigned for the House of Representatives. Polk became a supporter and close friend of Andrew Jackson, then the leading politician of Tennessee. Polk's oratory became popular, earning him the nickname "Napoleon of the Stump." He courted Sarah Childress, and they married on January 1, 1824.

The first public office he held was that of Chief Clerk of the Senate of Tennessee (1821–1823); he resigned the position in order to run his successful campaign for the state legislature. Polk was brought up as a Jeffersonian Democrat, for his father and grandfather were strong supporters of Thomas Jefferson. Polk was admitted to the bar in 1820, and established his own practice in Columbia. He graduated in 1818, returning to Nashville to study law under Felix Grundy.

After less than three years at the school, he left Tennessee to enroll in the University of North Carolina. He later attended a school in Murfreesboro, where he met his future wife, Sarah Childress. His formal education began at the age of 18, when he joined a religious school near his home. Polk was only educated informally during his childhood.

Polk survived the risky surgery, enjoying better health during the rest of his life. Ephraim McDowell conducted an operation to remove his gallstones. In 1812, his father took him to Kentucky, where the then-famous surgeon Dr. During his childhood, Polk suffered from poor health.

The family grew prosperous, with Samuel Polk becoming one of the leading gentlemen of the area. In 1806, the Polk family moved to Tennessee, settling near Duck River in what is now called Maury County. His father, Samuel Polk, was a farmer and surveyor of Scots-Irish descent, and related to Scottish nobility; his mother, Jane Polk (née Knox) was a descendant of the Scottish religious reformer John Knox. Polk, the first of ten children, was born on his family's 250 acre (1 km²) farm in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

. Naval Academy and the Washington Monument, and the issuance of the first postage stamps in the United States. He also oversaw the opening of the U.S. His term is remembered for the largest expansion of the nation's boundaries since the Louisiana Purchase, through the negotiated establishment of the Oregon Territory and the acquisition of 1.2 million square miles (3,100,000 km²) through the Mexican-American War.

He is noted for his expansionist beliefs, for his pledge to serve only one term, and for becoming the first "dark horse" (a candidate who unexpectedly gains the party nomination) to win the presidency. He is (as of 2005) the only former Speaker of the House to become President. A Democrat, Polk served as Speaker of the House (1835–1839) and Governor of Tennessee (1839–1841) prior to becoming president. Polk was born in North Carolina, but mostly lived in and represented the state of Tennessee.

James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the eleventh President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849. Wisconsin – May 29, 1848. Iowa – December 28, 1846. Texas – December 29, 1845.

Robert Cooper Grier (1846). Levi Woodbury (1845).