James Knox Polk Frontpage
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James K. Polk's Scots-Irish ancestors had settled in America in the 1720s, first in Pennsylvania, and then moving to North Carolina and finally to Tennessee. Both his grandfathers had fought in the Revolutionary War. Born in 1795, James lived the first ten years of his life in rural North Carolina on the family farm. Then the family followed James's grandfather to frontier Tennessee, a difficult journey of nearly five hundred miles by wagon, to carve farms and plantations out of the wilderness. James's father, Samuel Polk, prospered in Tennessee, owning thousands of acres of land and over fifty slaves at his death in 1827. His planting success enabled him to dabble in local politics, and he actively supported fellow Tennesseen Andrew Jackson's presidential campaign in 1824.
The eldest of ten children, James lived in a tidy and well-organized household supervised by a stern mother, Jane Knox Polk, who believed in raising her children according to the strict Presbyterian "gospel of duty." But he was not a healthy child. The trip west had taken its toll on him, and James suffered most of his youth from one sickness or another, especially gallstones. As a result, James became an overachiever, constantly working as hard as possible to make up for his real and often imagined physical defects.
Political Stepping Stones
Although not formally educated until he enrolled at age eighteen in a Presbyterian school outside of Columbia, Tennessee, James was quite advanced in reading, writing, and arithmetic because of home tutoring by his mother and several hired teachers. He eventually entered the University of North Carolina as a sophomore in 1816, graduating with honors in 1818. He then studied law under Felix Grundy, a prominent lawyer in Nashville who later became a U.S. senator and attorney general in the Martin Van Buren administration. Polk passed the state bar exam in 1820. While working on his legal studies, James secured a job as clerk of the state senate -- the bureaucratic post responsible for directing the flow of legislative paperwork. It was a wise move for the young man, who had by then decided to use the law and his statehouse connections as stepping stones to a political career.
In 1823, his hard-working efforts on behalf of county Jeffersonian-Republicans (also known as Democratic-Republicans) paid off with his successful bid to become a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives. In the House, where he served for two years, James operated as the chief legislative lieutenant of Tennessee Governor William Carrolls. In 1825, James was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's Sixth District, a victory that he repeated for six consecutive terms. In 1835, largely due to the support of President Andrew Jackson, Polk was elected Speaker of the House, a position he held until 1839.
As Polk had served Governor Carrolls in Tennessee, so too did he become Andrew Jackson's strongest supporter in the House during Jackson's presidency. Polk championed every measure identified with the President, from Jackson's fight to kill the Second Bank of the United States, including his transfer of federal deposits into favored Jackson "pet banks," his opposition to internal improvements funded at federal expense, and his strong stand against South Carolina over the nullification crisis. Whatever Jackson supported, Polk also supported. His loyalty to Jackson won the President's loyalty in return, and the President treated Polk almost like the son he never had. Polk's colleagues, partly in jest, referred to him as "Young Hickory".
Leaving the House in 1839, Polk won the governorship of Tennessee, where he attempted to introduce banking reforms. The times were difficult ones in the nation and the state, however, as the economic collapse of the late 1830s reverberated into the early 1840s with bankruptcies, farm foreclosures, and tight credit. Much blame was heaped upon the Democratic Party by a newly invigorated Whig Party. Polk lost his reelection campaign in 1841 and again in 1843. Out of office and twice defeated, Polk turned his attention to his plantations and slaves, waiting for the right opportunity to get back
A Political Partner
Among his political assets was Sarah Childress, the Tennessee woman whom he had married in 1824. At the time of their wedding, she was a twenty-year-old lady who brought substantial family wealth into the Polk household. A well-educated woman for her time, Sarah had attended the prestigious Moravian Female Academy at Salem, North Carolina. James and Sarah met while both were taking lessons -- as was the custom in those days for the sons and daughters of prosperous planters -- from a private tutor in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She had been only twelve at the time. As Congressman Polk's wife, and later as the first lady of Tennessee, Sarah Polk threw herself into hosting social affairs beneficial to her husband's career, exhibiting a lively and intelligent charm as an informed conversationalist. In her social graces, she was almost the exact opposite to her husband, who avoided small talk and had to force himself to mingle with guests at Sarah's many dinner affairs.
The eldest of ten children, James lived in a tidy and well-organized household supervised by a stern mother, Jane Knox Polk, who believed in raising her children according to the strict Presbyterian "gospel of duty." But he was not a healthy child. The trip west had taken its toll on him, and James suffered most of his youth from one sickness or another, especially gallstones. As a result, James became an overachiever, constantly working as hard as possible to make up for his real and often imagined physical defects.
Political Stepping Stones
Although not formally educated until he enrolled at age eighteen in a Presbyterian school outside of Columbia, Tennessee, James was quite advanced in reading, writing, and arithmetic because of home tutoring by his mother and several hired teachers. He eventually entered the University of North Carolina as a sophomore in 1816, graduating with honors in 1818. He then studied law under Felix Grundy, a prominent lawyer in Nashville who later became a U.S. senator and attorney general in the Martin Van Buren administration. Polk passed the state bar exam in 1820. While working on his legal studies, James secured a job as clerk of the state senate -- the bureaucratic post responsible for directing the flow of legislative paperwork. It was a wise move for the young man, who had by then decided to use the law and his statehouse connections as stepping stones to a political career.
In 1823, his hard-working efforts on behalf of county Jeffersonian-Republicans (also known as Democratic-Republicans) paid off with his successful bid to become a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives. In the House, where he served for two years, James operated as the chief legislative lieutenant of Tennessee Governor William Carrolls. In 1825, James was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's Sixth District, a victory that he repeated for six consecutive terms. In 1835, largely due to the support of President Andrew Jackson, Polk was elected Speaker of the House, a position he held until 1839.
As Polk had served Governor Carrolls in Tennessee, so too did he become Andrew Jackson's strongest supporter in the House during Jackson's presidency. Polk championed every measure identified with the President, from Jackson's fight to kill the Second Bank of the United States, including his transfer of federal deposits into favored Jackson "pet banks," his opposition to internal improvements funded at federal expense, and his strong stand against South Carolina over the nullification crisis. Whatever Jackson supported, Polk also supported. His loyalty to Jackson won the President's loyalty in return, and the President treated Polk almost like the son he never had. Polk's colleagues, partly in jest, referred to him as "Young Hickory".
Leaving the House in 1839, Polk won the governorship of Tennessee, where he attempted to introduce banking reforms. The times were difficult ones in the nation and the state, however, as the economic collapse of the late 1830s reverberated into the early 1840s with bankruptcies, farm foreclosures, and tight credit. Much blame was heaped upon the Democratic Party by a newly invigorated Whig Party. Polk lost his reelection campaign in 1841 and again in 1843. Out of office and twice defeated, Polk turned his attention to his plantations and slaves, waiting for the right opportunity to get back
A Political Partner
Among his political assets was Sarah Childress, the Tennessee woman whom he had married in 1824. At the time of their wedding, she was a twenty-year-old lady who brought substantial family wealth into the Polk household. A well-educated woman for her time, Sarah had attended the prestigious Moravian Female Academy at Salem, North Carolina. James and Sarah met while both were taking lessons -- as was the custom in those days for the sons and daughters of prosperous planters -- from a private tutor in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She had been only twelve at the time. As Congressman Polk's wife, and later as the first lady of Tennessee, Sarah Polk threw herself into hosting social affairs beneficial to her husband's career, exhibiting a lively and intelligent charm as an informed conversationalist. In her social graces, she was almost the exact opposite to her husband, who avoided small talk and had to force himself to mingle with guests at Sarah's many dinner affairs.