The Answers

"We must ever maintain the principle that the people of this continent alone have the right to decide their own destiny." -James Knox Polk
I was remiss in observing President's Day, so as a way to make up for my blunder, I introduce you to one of the forgotten Presidents.

Manifest destiny. Many of us remember that catchy phrase from school history lessons, even though at the time we may not have quite totally understood what it really meant. It's the concept of manifest destiny, though, which is taught in school (if at all), rather than which President championed it as a principle of freedom. As a result, President James K. Polk remains one of those six Presidents crowded into the period between 1840 and 1860 which tend to become a hazy blur, rather than attaining the place of greater prominence he actually deserves. In fact, a leading historian called Polk "the one bright spot in the dull void between Jackson and Lincoln." Despite this, Polk, who "came out of nowhere" to become President in 1844 and accomplished all he set out to do during his administration, managed to return to obscurity and remain there.

Polk's expansionist agenda led to disputes with Mexico over Southwest regions and the failure to resolve those disputes resulted in the Mexican War in 1846. When the United States proved to be victorious in 1848, the peace treaty added over a million square miles in the Southwest and Far West, including California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and Washington state. Under Polk, "manifest destiny" - the idea that acquiring western lands was proper and necessary in order to secure the noble purposes of the United States - resulted in the country now stretching from sea to sea, thereby locking out the possibility of foreign intervention in those areas which had become increasingly under the influence of the maturing United States. It also provided opportunities of unparalleled freedom for Americans to move West and still be under the protection of the United States government.

Polk remained focused on the ideals of "manifest destiny", as opposed to merely acquiring land for its own sake, and rejected suggestions that the U.S. seize parts of Canada up to Alaska or the entire nation of Mexico. Polk properly reasoned that those acquisitions simply weren't needed to serve the legitimate purpose of securing the nation and its noble purposes from foreign intervention. President Polk worked extremely hard during his term and at the end of it, suffering from exhaustion, decided to return to private life even though he remained popular and probably could have won a second term. He also felt he had achieved what he had set out to do, and simply didn't need to return to the office. At the age of only 53, he died at his Nashville home a mere three months after leaving office.

It's hard to imagine the United States without the vast expanses of the Southwest and Far West - particularly the State of California. The taming of these areas became an important part of the country's folklore and national identity. Yet all this might not have been, had President James Knox Polk not pursued his principles with such vigor. Therefore, it's strange indeed that there is so little national remembrance of this man and the critical role his presidency played.