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President James Polk Essay

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James Polk was the 11th president of the United States and he is not too well known. He isn't one of the most famous presidents like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington but in the end he was just as important as any other president. He served our great country as president from 1845 to 1849 and was often referred to as the first "dark horse"president because it was a surprise when he entered the ballets.
Born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Polk was very studious. He was very intelligent and graduated from the University of North Carolina with honors in 1818. Polk decided to be a lawyer and one thing led to another and he began politics. Polk was of the Democratic Party and after he finished college he lived in Tennessee. James Polk …show more content…

President Polk then sent General Zachary Taylor to go check out the area. Mexico saw this as a violent gesture and promptly attacked the American troops. This resulted in war, in which America gained victory to most of the battles. Finally in 1849, the Mexicans gave the US the New Mexico and California area of land for fifteen million dollars and America paying for the damage they caused during the small war. This was just one of Polk's victories as president of the United States. Just during his time as president, Polk expanded America with a vast amount of land.
James Polk left office with health issues from overworking on March 4th,1849 and died later that year on June 15,1849. He died when he was only 54 years old. He was succeeded by President Zachary Taylor. Polk had the shortest retirement of all presidents at only one hundred and three days. And he was the youngest president to die during retirement. His last words were to his wife saying "I love you Sarah, forever and all eternity."
Polk was a strong and determined president that was devoted to expanding and making America larger. James K Polk is also known as the president who made America a coast to coast country. During his brief time as president, he made many great innovations that are a large part of America today. Even if most people don't know much

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