James K. Polk

By Atlas MeyersThe 11th Presidency (1845–1849)

Biography and Memoir

History

Length1h 9m

About this book

Summary

THE CHECKLIST PRESIDENCY James K. Polk treated the presidency not as a pulpit, but as a checklist. Lacking the charisma of his predecessors, he possessed a terrifying efficiency that transformed the United States into a transcontinental power in a single term. This volume chronicles the weaponization of Manifest Destiny, revealing a cold narrative of cartography and provocation. Inside, you will discover: The "Dark Horse" strategy that stunned the 1844 convention. The diplomatic brinkmanship of the Oregon dispute. The manufactured origins of the Mexican-American War. The Wilmot Proviso and the awakening of the slavery crisis. The physical destruction of a micromanaging president. Polk secured 1.2 million square miles and fulfilled every pledge, but his ruthless competence sowed the seeds of the Civil War. He built a nation from sea to shining sea, only to leave it standing on a fault line.