James K. Polk: The Greatest American President You've Never Heard Of

this video is brought to you by squarespace from  websites and online stores to marketing tools and   analytics squarespaces the all-in-one platform  to build a beautiful online presence and run your   business check out squarespace through the link  in the description below and more on them in a bit quick question how often have you seen a new  president enter office with a sack full of   promises only to immediately break the entire lot  of them well that number probably corresponds to   the number of presidents you lived under  from george h.w bush's no new taxes to   obama failing to close gitmo the white house has  a long tradition of over-promising and delivering   yet there was one president who bucked this  trend a man who on entering office promised four   specific things achieved them all and then  left after a single term that man was james   k polk and he was arguably the most successful  president in u.s history at the moment polk was   inaugurated in 1845 a movement was underway to  increase america's territory declaring that it   expands the nation westward polk quickly took  the u.s from a nation of 1.7 million square miles   to nearly three million it was polk who brought  in texas california oregon territory polk who   ordered the u.s to stretch from sea to shining  sea but all this giddy expansion came at a price   polk may have left the u.s greatly enlarged but he  also left it standing on the brink of catastrophe the life james knox polk was born into on november  2nd 1795 was one for which only the term hardy   could suffice born in a log cabin in rural north  carolina polg was the first of an incredible   ten children all of whom his mother would raise  in a strict calvinist faith that meant little   fun and a lot of hard work as an adult polkwood  overworked to the point of exhaustion unable   to escape the feeling that arrest was somehow  wicked yet compared to the rest of his childhood   work was almost a respite when the boy was 10 his  family upped sticks and moved to the tennessee   frontier where his father was determined to  carve out a plantation for over 500 miles   the family traveled on rough roads via wagons  subjecting themselves to all sorts of deprivations   it was on this journey that the future president  began to suffer the ill health that would plague   him for his life and given how bad things got  actual plague would have probably been preferable   as a teen for example polk was forced to undergo  surgery for his illness with no anesthetic and   no antibiotics the surgeon simply gave him some  brandy and then sliced his urinary tract open   and sewed him back up all while the boy presumably  screamed still the move to tennessee did at least   change the family's fortunes the new plantation  grew to thousands of acres tendered by 50 slaves   as the polks came up in the world they began to  rub shoulders with the great and good of the state   the greatest of whom was no doubt andrew jackson  a living military legend old hickory was already   famous for his controversial wars and role  in tennessee's expansion he was also about   to become the biggest most divisive thing  in american politics in other words exactly   the sort of personality an ambitious young man  might want to hitch themselves to a young man   like james polk it's uncertain exactly when polk  and jackson first met but it can't have been long   after the young man returned from university in  north carolina initially settling in nashville   to practice law polk quickly set his sights on  politics picking up a side gig clerking in the   state senate it was here that he fell decisively  into the orbit of democratic republicans likely   the single most powerful party in u.s history  by 1823 the democratic republican party was   headed towards its seventh election victory in a  row a feat still unmatched in american politics   but as the party reached a quarter century in  power the lack of opposition had become a curse   fishers were starting to erupt that threatened to  engulf everything it would be from the ashes of   these political wildfires that polk's washington  career was born for now the future president   concentrated on local politics winning election  to tennessee's state house of representatives   there he made perhaps the shrewdest decision of  his life tennessee was in need of a new senator   to send to washington although he was aligned with  a different faction polk wound up casting his vote   for a grateful andrew jackson it seems the young  man was already able to read the political winds   within a year those winds had become an oncoming  storm in 1824 four different candidates claimed   the mantle of democratic republican nominee among  them was andrew jackson down in tennessee polk   campaigned ferociously for his new friend  delighting when he gains the largest share   of the popular vote but since none of the four  managed to win outright it held a congress to   pick the next president to polk and jackson's  outrage they went with second place finisher   john quincy adams yet the result would be a  blessing in disguise when the next election   rolled around old hickory would be able to  use outrage generated by adams's corrupt wind   to propel himself to the very top and his new  protege would be riding along right beside him the same year he lost the presidency by a whisker  andrew jackson gave polk perhaps the best piece   of advice the young man would ever receive to get  married see the thing we haven't mentioned is that   james polk was a dude who was incredibly hard  to like austere dower prone to overwork awful   at conversation and uninterested in anything but  politics polk was like your nightmare tinder date   a sexless boring man who couldn't charm his way  out of a paper bag which is why his 1824 marriage   to sarah chadrus was such a gift the rich daughter  of politically connected slave owners sarah was a   born socialite the sort of woman who could work a  room so well that everyone would leave wanting to   do exactly as she had suggested as polk's wife  sarah used every ounce of this charm to help   nurture and expand her husband's tennessee power  base in no time at all that base was flourishing   in 1825 polk abandoned the state legislature  taking a run at the house of representatives   he won handily the first of seven terms that  it served in washington and that gave him   a ringside seat to the biggest electoral storm in  decades the 1828 election saw jackson's comeback   netting the victory denied four years earlier at  the head of the newly created democratic party   he crushed john quincy adams taking 55 percent of  the popular vote inaugurated the following march   jackson entered the white house like a hurricane  ready to smash the old order to pieces personally   james k polk couldn't wait rather than just  being jackson's ally in the house polk became the   seventh president's lieutenant the guy who'd go to  bat for him no matter what bat crazy thing jackson   was slinging every single idea that jackson  put forward polk defended to the hilt helping   whip his fellow representatives into following the  president his colleagues made fun of him calling   him young hickory made out that he was jackson's  puppet but polk was more than that it may have   been ambition that initially hitched him to this  brash populist but it was something else that made   him stay for polk jacksonian democracy wasn't just  an idea it was a movement a movement that actively   expanded the electorate that spoke for the  people and the people couldn't get enough of it   re-elected in 1832 jackson was by now starting  to consider polk the son that he'd never had he   backed his protege to become speaker of the house  before ensuring that polk would keep that position   even after he stepped down as president a promise  made easy when his hand-picked successor martin   van buren won in 1836. for polk this was an era  where he rode the zeitgeist to the crest of a   popular wave that looked set to keep rolling  for eternity also it must have seemed in truth   jackson's policies especially regarding banking  had set the economy on a crash course and his   divisive manner had sparked a massive backlash  in his home state in 1835 in 1837 anti-jackson   politicians won the tennessee governor's mansion  in 1836 the state voted against van buren worried   about the rebellion in his backyard polk quit the  house returned home and in 1839 ran for governor   on an openly jacksonian platform his shock win  was supposed to turn the tide to show this wave   was never going to stop sweeping the nation  instead polk's victory turned out to be a   mere breather before the wave dumped him naked  shivering and broken onto reality's stony shore   by 1840 the jackson experiment had failed the  economy was being hammered people were going   bankrupt and life tasted of ash and bitterness  that same year the whig party under william   henry harrison beat the democrats at the polls  just 12 months later polk was booted from the   tennessee governor's mansion when he tried to  retake it in 1843 he failed spectacularly with   jackson's movement floundering and the wigs and  ascendants polk suddenly found himself cast adrift   he returned to the family plantation wondering  if maybe that was it if his time at the top had   already come and gone he needn't have worried  in 12 months the wig's seemingly unstoppable   rise was going to splutter and stall and when it  did it would be young hickory could be ready to   replace them now just before we get into the rest  of today's video i do want to say that this one   is brought to you by squarespace this is the  age of creation think about it everybody is   out there on the internet making something online  whether it's a tick-tock dancer youtube video or   a fantastic website and look if you want to make  a fantastic website the right way to 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mexico still wanted their  wayward province back so rather than risk war   washington quietly avoided the issue but then john  tyler came along and screwed everything up the   10th president tyler had taken over from william  henry harrison after the latter died in office   nominally a wig tyler was such an unwick-like  president that his party hated him knowing   he'd never get re-nominated in 1844 tyler began  desperately casting about for a popular issue to   boost his run as an independent and nothing was  more popular than wanting to annex texas tyler's   pro-annexation stance effectively turned the  democratic party on its head beforehand martin van   buren have been expected to run again but tyler's  announcement made taxes such a hot issue that van   buren had to weigh in and that was a problem  because while van buren would lose southern   democrats if he came out as anti-annexation he'd  lose his home state of new york if he came out   as pro slavery you see was still legal in texas  if texas was admitted to the union the delicate   balance between slave and free states would be  destroyed van buren's one slim hope was to oppose   annexation then hope southern democrats after  a whole lot of moaning would rally behind him   rather than let the whigs win the election sadly  he misjudged how willing southerners were to play   nice with him at the 1844 democratic convention  the ballot deadlocked there was no majority for   anti-annexation van buren but his rival louis  cass couldn't quite win either on the eight ballot   someone suggested throwing in a compromise  candidate to break the tie someone known   for his party loyalty someone who might be i don't  know chilling down in tennessee right now only   dimly aware of all of this drama the moment polk's  name was added van buren knew that the game was   over rather than let cass become eventual victor  he threw all of his supporters behind the new guy   at 2pm on may 30 1844 polk became the democratic  nominee it would take word nearly a week to reach   tennessee it reached washington that same day  though thanks to a newly installed telegraph   and the dudes in washington found the whole thing  hilarious polk was such a nobody the newspapers   declared who is james k polk the whigs responded  by putting up their best man henry clay knowing   it to be a cakewalk sadly for clay it turns out  the answer to who was james k polk was one clever   son of a [ __ ] polk's genius was to embrace texas  annexation while also throwing northerners a bone   what if oregon territory then jointly administered  with britain also joined the union since any new   oregon state would probably be free the delicate  balance in congress would be preserved all while   fulfilling america's manifest destiny that tricky  needle threaded all polk had to do was sit back   and watch the opposition flounder unwilling to  annex texas all the wigs could do was try to   portray themselves as the anti-slavery party a  hypocritical position since their nominee owned   slaves it was this simple fact that spelled  henry clay's doom when the election results   finally came in polk could won the popular  vote by a mere 38 000 ballots one of the   narrowest victories in u.s history painfully for  the wigs clay lost just enough votes in new york   to the hardcore anti-slavery liberal party to  put polk over the top had clay won the state had   squeaked an electoral college victory age  just 49 polk was set to become america's then   youngest president in doing so he set the  entire nation on a collision course with destiny so back in the intro we mentioned how polk entered  the white house with four specific promises   so well now might be a good time to get them on  our checklist for ticking off later the first   two you're already familiar with one annex texas  two take over the oregon territory the other two   were a little bit more obscure three lower  tariff rates and four establish an independent   u.s treasury short as this list was it was also a  tall order especially since poll had already said   he only wanted to serve one term if he wanted to  become america's most successful president polk   was going to have to act fast luckily where one  item was concerned at least congress was already   raring to go one of the very first things polk  did in office was to sign off on congress's joint   resolution to annex texas that paved the way for  the lone star state to join the union in december   1845 providing polk with an early win the eleventh  president then immediately turned his attention   to the other chunk of territory that he wanted  oregon back in 1818 the u.s and britain had agreed   to join the occupy oregon country modern-day  oregon washington idaho and british columbia   this had worked well for a couple of decades  but as more and more americans started flooding   in on the oregon trail and manifest destiny  slowly became a thing people began to wonder   well why why were they sharing this prime piece of  real estate with a bunch of limey douchebags when   they could just take it for themselves a movement  even sprang up to annex the territory all the way   up to what was then russian alaska's southern  border at the latitude of 54 degrees 40 minutes   spawning the jingoistic slogan 54-40 or fight in  his campaign polk had capitalized on this feeling   promising to take oregon territory with a year of  being elected but now he was actually president   that whole or fight bit it was starting to look  a bit drastic no one wanted a bunch of redcoats   marching down from canada and setting the white  house on fire again especially not when mexico was   clearly gearing up for a war over texas so polk  did the only thing he could he cut a deal dropping   the whole 54 degrees thing american negotiators  contacted the british wondering if they   might not accept a slightly less offensive border  with the british also super not into the idea of   turning the war of 1812 into an ongoing franchise  a deal was quickly reached oregon country would be   divided along the 49th parallel with a slight  deviation at the end to allow the whole of   vancouver island to remain in canada and that's  how without a shot being fired the modern pacific   northwest joined the usa the oregon treaty came  into force on june 15 1846 less than a year and a   half into his term and polk had already fulfilled  his second campaign promise well actually it   fulfilled all four the first half of 1846 also  saw polk first convince congress to lower tariffs   and then to establish an independent treasury his  other two major pledges but while the president's   program was technically complete he didn't have  time to celebrate by the time the oregon treaty   was being signed the texas issue had already come  to a head the united states and mexico were now at   war by the time the carnage ended the political  map of north america would have changed forever in late april 1846 mexican troops crossed the  rio grande determined to deal with the invaders   in their nation's north it was now a few months  since texas had joined the u.s an act mexico's   leaders felt should have led to war but didn't  but letting texas go was one thing it was quite   another to let enemies occupy mexican soil at last  the mexican troops found the american intruders an   opening fire they killed 12 before retreating as  they slipped back across the river the soldiers   must have felt a sense of triumph americans had  occupied their soil and paid the price but that   wasn't how the americans saw it as far as they  were concerned mexico had just invaded texas at   the moment texas became part of the usa it had  a disputed border with mexico an area between   the rio grande and the news's river that both  side claimed as their own not long after texas   was annexed polk could send a special envoy to  mexico city to settle the border claim but it   also ordered troops into the disputed zone under  general zachary taylor for some this act is final   proof that polk deliberately wanted to provoke  a conflict if that's the case well he got his   wish two weeks after the ambush that killed 12 u.s  troops congress authorized war with mexico it was   the beginning of the mexican-american war but it  was no longer just about texas if it ever had been   under the guise of conflict polk was about to push  through one of the biggest expansions that the u.s   would ever experience back in 1845 polkadot  dispatched charles freeman west to survey some   land around mexican-owned alta california survey  in air quotes there because freeman was really   heading an invasion force come may 1846 that force  was lying low on the edge of mexican territory   steadfastly being brutally murderous dicks to the  local native americans when word arrived at their   april ambush without even waiting to confirm if  congress had declared war freeman led his small   force into california rallying white settlers to  his side as they marched by june 14th the tiny   mexican garrison protecting the entire departmento  had surrendered just a few weeks later the navy   appeared off the coast and declared california  u.s territory it would take another month or so   to iron out the details but america was at last  beginning to stretch from sea to shining sea   you can see here why some people think polk was a  tricky son of a [ __ ] he 100 knew about freeman's   planned invasion and it's extremely likely that  he triggered the war as a cover for it yet who   can argue with the results between december  of 1845 and july of 1846 the 11th president   added not just texas and oregon territory to  america's portfolio but also california and   there was still more to come over the next year  and a half mexico was comprehensively defeated   the disputed texas territory occupied its capital  attacked and its government overthrown if we ever   get around to launching a war or graphics channel  and spoiler alert that totally might be happening   we'd love to talk you through all of  the highlights from winfield scott's   march from veracruz to santa ana's hilarious and  predictable double crossing of well everybody for   today's story though you only really need to  know the outcome major history spoiler though   mexico lost in washington the jingoism  unleashed by mexico's defeat was so great   that some democrats called for polk to annex  the entire country serenity now the president   managed to deflect their demands but not by much  the 1848 treaty of guadalupe hidalgo exceeded   even the warmongerer's wildest expectations not  only did it set texas border at the rio grande and   organize a payment to mexico in exchange for  california it also contained provisions for the   u.s to take new mexico known as the mexican  session it increased the size of the usa by   one-fourth giving washington the modern states of  arizona nevada utah new mexico and california plus   bits of wyoming and colorado for polk the treaty  was its ultimate triumph it was now nearly four   years since it assumed the presidency four years  in which it fulfilled all his pledges and turned   manifest destiny into concrete reality shaw  had taken 63 000 dead in a nasty war sure it   cleared the way for a wave of indigenous  killings across newly acquired california   one that would grow so vast it's today considered  a genocide but from the president's perspective   it'd have been worth it america's future was  now secure sadly the same can be said for polks when pog fulfilled his promise in 1848 to step  aside after one term it must have seemed like   he'd go down in history as one of the greatest  presidents for a while he did after all he'd   grown the country and won a war so why isn't  that the case anymore why did the last survey   of presidential historians in 2021 place him  18th on par with bill clinton for that you can   blame the massive pandora's box that polk opened  with his drive west the one that ruined every   president's reputation in his era the box marked  slavery there's no point sugar coating it james   pog owned dozens of slaves while he'd request  that they'd be freed in his will he never had   the moral courage do it himself of course polk  wasn't alone in this half of congress in this era   consisted of slavers and therein lay the biggest  problem as polk drove america worst both pro and   anti-slavery advocates began to wonder if this  wasn't all a scheme to bring in new slave states   and shut the abolitionists out of power as early  as 1846 flights were erupting in congress over   the new states with bills alternately banning  and expanding the south's peculiar appalling   institution the court between competing currents  in his own party and his own unsteady beliefs polk   tried weak compromises suggesting the missouri  compromise line be extended clear to the pacific   but such dithering made nobody happy by 1848  slavery had become the defining issue of the era   by paving the way for a host of new states without  settling the slavery question poll kelp pushed his   nation a step closer to the coming abyss while it  would take a string of failed presidents to lead   it over the edge there's no denying the polk's  failure to address this explosive issue undermines   his claim to greatness still as polk left office  he could look back on four transformative years   beyond his fulfilled promises there was the  creation of the department of the interior   the treaty signed with new granada modern-day  colombia giving the u.s right of way across panama   the first step towards the eventual creation  of the panama canal had overseen iowa and   wisconsin joining the union stabilized the economy  averted war with britain all heady important stuff   sure he had to watch as the whig party under  zachary taylor won the 1848 election but still   for a one-term wonder he was unequaled sadly  paul didn't get to rest on his laurels for long   ill from overwork when he stepped down polk  embarked on a vacation a tour of the south to   bask in the public's affection while in  new orleans the newly retired president   felt deathly ill most likely the result of  a cholera outbreak then gripping the city   thinking it was just a flare-up of his lifelong  problems polk cut his journey short and returned   to nashville there he died on june 15 1849 after  the shortest retirement in presidential history   fast forward to today and polk occupies  a weird space in the popular imagination   generally beloved by those who know of him  almost invisible to everyone else certainly   there's a lot to love how many other presidents  have willingly stood down after a single term   how many others have entered the oval office  with such clear goals and achieved all of them   yet for his personal integrity and intelligence  james k polk maybe falls short of being great too   let down by the slavery issue by the later  calamities he indirectly helped cause great or not   though pog was a visionary if you live in one of  the 13 odd states he brought into the u.s you're   still living that vision today because make  no mistake polk was massively consequential   whether we love him or we loathe him we  should all at least agree to remember him so i really hope you found that video  interesting if you did please do hit   that thumbs up button below don't forget to  subscribe and as always thank you for watching

Channel: Biographics

Views: 225,171

Keywords: biographics, biography, biographies, people, famous people, simon whistler

Id: fedRp85nFp4

Length: 25min 34sec (1534 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 25 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/WilsonandFDRbottom2]

I am unsure if any of you follow biographics on YouTube but this was pretty unbiased to me. They just uploaded one on Buchanan today as well.

After watching this, Polk went up a few tiers for me.

[u/sdu754]

Heard of him, and he is mediocre, around 23rd

[u/Maybe-egg]

Joke on you I heard of Jame K. Polk