James K. (James Knox) Polk

Born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in 1795 and raised in Tennessee, he studied at the University of North Carolina, practiced law, and quickly moved into politics. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives—eventually becoming Speaker—before serving as governor of Tennessee.

Polk won the presidency in 1844 and served from 1845 to 1849. He is closely associated with territorial expansion: during his administration, the United States annexed Texas, settled the Oregon boundary with Britain, and fought the Mexican-American War, after which the nation gained a vast stretch of western land.

He is often remembered for the focus and intensity of his one presidential term. Polk had promised to serve only one term, and after leaving office in March 1849, he died a few months later in Nashville at age 53.