James K. Polk and the Election of 1844

        "Who is James K. Polk?", that was the brash slogan of the Whig Party during the election of 1844.  The Whig candidate for President, Henry Clay, was favored to defeat the relatively unknown James K. Polk in the election.

       Henry Clay had an outstanding resume for a Presidential candidate.  Prior to 1844, Clay had held the following positions in government: Congressmen, Senator, Speaker of the House, and Secretary of State.  Clay was famous in the both the North and South for helping to create the Missouri Compromise and had been a Presidential candidate in the past.  1844 seemed like Clay would finally achieve his dream of becoming President until he misspoke about the issue of Texas.

     Clay had originally campaigned that if he was President he would veto any bill that would admit Texas into the Union. This secured his support in many of the Northern states that saw Texas as a means of extending slavery.  Late in the campaign, Clay went back on his word, and said that he would support  the annexation of Texas.  His flip-flopping on Texas alienated many of his supporters and gave Polk the advantage.

    Outside of Tennessee and the House of Representatives few Americans had heard of James K. Polk.  Polk was a hardworking lawyer and a successful politician in his home state.  His father was close friends with Andrew Jackson, and Jackson would serve as Polk's political role model and mentor.  He was elected to be Speaker of the House by his fellow Congressmen in 1835 and served until 1839.  when he was elected  the governor of Tennessee.   Polk arrived at the Democratic Convention hoping to get the nomination for Vice-President but after 8 rounds of  balloting he would become the Presidential nomination.

      James K. Polk aggressively campaigned on a platform that had four main goals: Annex Texas, Acquire California from Mexico, Secure the border between Oregon and Canada, and a Lower Tariff.  Polk combined the issues of Oregon and Texas to avoid further discussion of slavery.  Polk's policies made him appealing to Northerners and Southerners who believed in American expansion.

     The election was very close with Polk doing well in the West and South with Clay winning most of the Northeast.  Polk won  the crucial state of New York by just over 5,000 votes to secure him the victory, had Clay won New York he would have won the election.


 



Due Wednesday: Manifest Destiny Study Guide.