The Presidents #11: James Polk

[Ardent15]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Polk

Discuss him and his Presidency.

[lazarus]

1. accomplished everything he set out to accomplish

Possibly our strongest one term president.

[proteus_lives]

6. That's what I liked about him.

He left office without false ambition. It showed what a President can accomplish if he's not worrying about re-election.

[damonm]

2. Wouldn't be a Mexico, if he'd had his way...

Nicholas Tryst violated DIRECT ORDERS, and negotiated a peace w/ Mexico. Polk wanted to annex all of Mexico.

[The_Commonist]

3. Finally!

Polk is probably the most underrated president.
For many reasons, not all good.
As someone above said, he did everything he set out to do, and then didn't seek reelection.
He expanded the territory of the U.S. by over a third.
Of course, much of that was because he got us into a war based on lies. (sound familiar?)
Some people think he is largely responsible for the conditions that led to the Civil War.
He was the only Speaker of the House to win the presidency, and he was never expected to be nominated.
When he was, he said that the the presidency should be "neither sought nor declined" and he kept his promise not to seek reelection.

An interesting character, and it's too bad he died 3 months after leaving office.
He worked very hard, and it may have killed him.

[salguine]

4. Only President whose name rhymes with "yolk".

[Arkana]

5. James Polk--perhaps our most efficient President.

Accomplished every single one of his campaign promises, and did it within only four years.

[RoyGBiv]

7. An enormous prick n/t