James Polk portrait

James Knox Polk, the eleventh President of the United States, was born in North Carolina on November 2, 1795. After studying to become a lawyer, he entered politics as a Jacksonian Democrat. Polk served in the Tennessee state legislature, the United States House of Representatives, and as Governor of Tennessee. In the 1844 presidential election, he defeated Henry Clay, the Whig candidate for president. During his administration, Polk oversaw the founding of the United States Naval Academy and the Smithsonian Institution, lowered tariffs, and acquired California, New Mexico, and Oregon. His most notable accomplishment was leading the United States to victory in a war with Mexico over the annexation of Texas. James Polk died on June 15, 1849, three months after leaving office