President JAMES KNOX POLK ANNEX TEXAS OREGON TERRITORY, 1862 Art Print Engraving

Description: JAMES POLK A HIGH QUALITY STEEL ENGRAVING BOOKPLATE FROM THE 1860'S!! PERFECT FOR FRAMING AS AN ART PRINT FOR YOUR DEN !! VERY ANTIQUE & OLD WORLD LOOKING. ITEM(s) OVER 135 YEARS OLD!! James Knox Polk, (1795-1849), was the 11th president of the United States (1845-49), under whose leadership the country fought a victorious war with Mexico and greatly increased its territory by annexing Texas and all the land west of the Rocky Mountains. Polk was born on November 2, 1795, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. His mother was a descendant of the famous Scottish religious reformer John Knox. When he was 11 years old, Polk and his family moved to Tennessee, the state in which he achieved prominence. After graduating from the University of North Carolina, he developed a lucrative law practice in the Nashville, Tennessee, area. His career received a strong boost when he married the socially prominent Sarah Childress. An ardent supporter of President Andrew Jackson, Polk rose steadily within the ranks of the Democratic party of Tennessee. He served two years in the state legislature and then, between 1825 and 1839, in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was Speaker of the House during the last four years of his congressional term. As a congressman, Polk remained unswervingly loyal to Jackson, even when the administration's shifting policies caused him some embarrassment. Young Hickory, as Polk came to be called, was not widely loved, but he was respected for his dedication to the Democratic party and for his prowess as a speaker and politician. In 1839 Polk retired from Congress to become governor of Tennessee. An ambitious man, he tried unsuccessfully to win the Democratic vice-presidential nomination as Martin Van Buren's running mate in 1840. Four years later, however, he exceeded this ambition when he unexpectedly became the party's choice for the presidency. Polk was the nation's first "dark horse" candidate for the highest office. Little known outside Tennessee and the nation's capital, he was chosen only after the 1844 Democratic National Convention became deadlocked. Van Buren was supported by the majority of the delegates, but he failed to receive the two-thirds vote required by the rules of the convention. After other, more prominent men were rejected, the party turned to Polk. He was so obscure that the opposing Whigs tried to score propaganda points during the campaign by regularly asking, "Who is James K. Polk?" He was named by the Democrats primarily because he was known to favor the annexation of Texas. Polk's cause was helped by the popular belief that the United States had a "manifest destiny" to occupy the whole continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Nevertheless, the 1844 presidential election was extremely close: Polk managed to defeat his Whig opponent, Henry Clay, but only by a few thousand votes. Polk's goals as president were to achieve a lower tariff, to separate the federal government and the U.S. Treasury from the banking industry, and to acquire Texas, California, and Oregon for the United States. One of his objectives was achieved a few days before he took office, when President John Tyler signed the bill providing for the annexation of Texas. Polk was a nationalist, and he reminded Europe that he would enforce the Monroe Doctrine and permit no intervention in the western hemisphere by non-American powers. When he demanded during the election campaign that Great Britain cede the whole of the disputed Oregon Territory up to the 54°40' line, Polk may have pleased U.S. expansionists, but his claim was of dubious legality. After assuming office, he settled for a compromise that gave the U.S. land up to the 49th parallel, the northern border of the present-day state of Washington. Polk was so intent on acquiring California, which belonged to Mexico, that he was prepared in early May 1846 to make war on Mexico with or without a pretext. The pretext that he did seize occurred when Mexican troops fired on American soldiers in territory claimed by both nations north of the Rio Grande. Although U.S. troops may actually have been sent into the disputed area with the deliberate aim of provoking a conflict, Congress approved Polk's request that it recognize that a state of war existed between the U.S. and Mexico, raising the troops and appropriating the money and supplies necessary to fight the war. The vote in favor of war was overwhelming, but in reality Congress was bitterly divided. Many northerners believed the Mexican War was a southern plot designed to expand slavery into the new territories to be taken from Mexico. Some southerners, such as Alexander H. Stephens, joined with northern Whigs, such as Abraham Lincoln, to condemn what they believed were devious methods used by Polk to provoke hostilities. The conduct of the war was marred by political intrigue and bickering that affected relations between Polk and his leading generals, Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. On the other hand, U.S. forces won a complete military victory that resulted in the annexation of what became the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Although Polk's foreign policy can be judged a success, it also raised questions about the nation's honor, divided the country over the issue of slavery's expansion, and poisoned relations between the U.S. and Mexico. Polk died in Nashville on June 15, 1849, a few weeks after leaving office. SIZE: Image size in inches is 5 1/2" x 7 1/2", overall page size is 7" x 10". CONDITION: Good. Nothing on reverse. Thick rag stock paper. SHIPPING: Buyers to pay shipping/handling, domestic orders receives priority mail, international orders receive regular mail. We pack properly to protect your item! An engraving is an intaglio process of printing, with the design to be produced is cut below the surface of the plate (made of copper, steel or wood), and the incised lines are filled with ink that is then transferred to paper. The portraits on our currency are good examples of engraved images. A Photogravure is an intaglio process in which the plate is produced photographically. The item(s) being sold is an image on paper made from the original master and IS NOT a block of wood or steel. IMAGE IS MUCH SHARPER AND CLEARER THAN SCAN SHOWS !! THIS IS AN ACTUAL ENGRAVING PRINTED IN THE 1860's! NOT A MODERN REPRODUCTION!

Price: 8.99 USD

Location: New Providence, New Jersey

End Time: 2024-08-28T12:47:19.000Z

Shipping Cost: 7.95 USD