Polk, James (Administration)

JAMES K. POLK (1795–1849) was the 11th president of the United States and served from 1845 to 1849. He arose from comparative obscurity to political prominence largely through his own merits, but also benefited from personal connections.

His time in office was marked by general managerial competence at the cost of some measure of personal unhappiness, as revealed by his presidential diary. He was also a voluntary slave owner for economic reasons, and this and other character attributes has clouded his reputation subsequently.

Born in North Carolina, Polk served in the Tennessee legislature and became an associate of President Andrew Jackson, whose policies Polk strongly supported. When other potential Democrat candidates decided against backing an expansionist policy, especially in Texas and Oregon, Polk was raised to presidential candidate somewhat beyond his expectations. Successful in the election, he took office after Congress had already taken steps to annex Texas, which meant he faced confrontation with Mexico from the outset of his administration.

The focal event of the Polk administration was the war with Mexico. It resulted in an expansion in American territory almost as dramatic as that achieved through the Louisiana Purchase. It made the United States a truly transcontinental power. And it demonstrated American military hegemony in the Western Hemisphere. By the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico ceded some 40 percent of its territory to the United States, including territories that would become the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico, as well as portions of the subsequent states of Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas.

Given the current status of California, which is the nation's most populous state and has an economic output that would rank seventh in the world if it were a separate nation, it is difficult to overstate the significance of this “minor” war.

One of the long-term consequences of this war that bears directly on the issue of poverty has been the disenfranchisement [Page 835]and subsequent economic exploitation of the substantial Mexican population who lived in the territories ceded to the United States.

This population has not only made significant contributions to the culture of the southwest and of the nation at large, but it has also provided much of the labor on the farms and ranches, in the mines, and in the factories of the region.

In the last quarter of the 20th century, Mexican-Americans did make significant gains in terms of their economic and political power, but their situation has been complicated by the increasing numbers of illegal immigrants entering the states of the southwest from Mexico, including large numbers of political and economic refugees in transit from other Central and South American nations. The border issues have intensified following the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), creating a tariff-free trading zone among the nations of Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

Oddly enough, despite his aggressive nationalism, Polk was an advocate of free trade and signed into law the Walker Tariff of 1846, which significantly reduced the existing protectionist duties levied on imported goods.

It is also worth noting that Polk signed an order requiring that imports be warehoused until the tariffs on them were paid in full and that tariffs be paid in specie that would be deposited in new federal “treasuries” not affiliated with any existing commercial financial institutions. So, even though Polk was willing to reduce federal revenues from tariffs, he was determined to collect all of the revenues due to the government.

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