Important People: James K. Polk James K. Polk (1795-1849) was the eleventh president of the United States. His name is perhaps most closely associated with Manifest Destiny, as the term was coined by a fellow Democrat in 1843, the year before he began his presidency. Manifest Destiny—the belief that Americans were destined by God to conquer the continent to the Pacific Ocean—soon came to represent the governing philosophy of the Polk administration and its expansionist aims. Polk successfully campaigned for president on an expansionist platform. He promised to both annex the independent Republic of Texas and acquire the Oregon Territory, a Northwestern territory claimed by the British. Two days after he took office, however, diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States were severed over the American annexation of Texas. Tensions continued to escalate as Polk settled the Oregon boundary with Britain at 49ºN, far south of the initial demanded border 54º40'. Polk, believing the territorial claims of Oregon and Texas were insufficient in reaching America’s goal of Manifest Destiny, then set his sites on the Mexican controlled state of California. Polk sent an envoy to offer Mexico up to $20 million for California, which was immediately rejected by the Mexican government. Meanwhile, border disputes between Mexico and Texas continued. To pressure Mexico into surrendering the lands, Polk sent General Zachary Taylor and American forces to the disputed territory along the Rio Grande. To Mexican troops, this deployment of American soldiers was an act of aggression. A confrontation in 1846 ended when Mexican troops launched an attack on American soldiers in the disputed region of Texas.
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Important People: James K. Polk - Omaha Public Schools
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