Oxford Reference Search Results

Polk, James Knox   Reference library

Wayne Cutler

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History

..., James Knox ( 1795 – 1849 ), eleventh president of the United States . A Jacksonian Democrat and devotee of Thomas Jefferson ’s agrarian political ideology, Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina , and reared in Maury County, Tennessee. Graduating with honors from the University of North Carolina in 1818 , he first practiced law and in 1823 won election to the Tennessee legislature. He married Sarah Childress in 1824 . Elected to Congress in 1825 , he opposed President John Quincy Adams ’s domestic program of economic development...

Taylor, Zachary   Reference library

Elbert B. Smith

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History

...Indian treaties; prevented white settlement of Indian lands; and during the Seminole wars in Florida , refused to return to their own-ers escaped slaves living with the Seminoles. Although opposed to Texas annexation, Taylor in January 1846 was ordered by President James Knox Polk to advance to the Rio Grande River. A Mexican attack on a unit of his army in April led to the Mexican War. Winning battles against numerical odds, he became a national hero, nicknamed “Old Rough and Ready.” As the Whig Party’s presidential candidate in 1848 , he defeated...

Tyler, John   Reference library

Eric D. Daniels

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History

...and the brewing conflict over slavery, Tyler saw it as an opportunity to defend both the South and states’ rights. He negotiated an annexation treaty and waited for southern Jacksonians to assist in its ratification. The Democrats heeded the call in 1844 by nominating James Knox Polk , an ardent annexationist. Bypassing the ratification process that would have required a two-thirds majority for Tyler ’s treaty, Congress simply admitted Texas by resolution in February 1845 , just days before Tyler left office. In 1860 , Tyler served on a futile...

Wilmot Proviso   Reference library

Michael A. Morrison

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History

...divide the American people in the North and South in the coming decade, lead to the formation of the Republican Party, secure Lincoln ’s election, and be the rationale for secession of the South. [ See also Antislavery Movement ; Civil Liberties ; Civil Rights ; and Polk, James Knox . ] Bibliography Foner, Eric. “ The Wilmot Proviso Revisited. ” Journal of American History 56 (1969): 262–279. Morrison, Chaplain W. Democratic Politics and Sectionalism: The Wilmot Proviso Controversy . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1967. Morrison,...

Buchanan, James   Reference library

Joel H. Silbey

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History

...James ( 1791 – 1868 ), fifteenth president of the United States . Born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania , the son of a storekeeper and farmer, Buchanan was a successful lawyer who soon turned to politics. Originally a Federalist, he became a Jacksonian Democrat , serving successively as a state legislator, congressman, minister to Russia ( 1832 – 1834 ), U.S. senator ( 1834 – 1845 ), secretary of state under James Knox Polk ( 1845 – 1849 ), and ambassador to Great Britain ( 1853 – 1856 ). Like other antebellum Democrats, Buchanan ...

Texas Annexation   Reference library

Michael A. Morrison

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History

...Polk, riding this new, powerful issue of expansion, defeated the Whig party nominee Henry Clay . Believing that the election was a referendum on Texas annexation, President Tyler urged Congress again to take up the measure. Bypassing the treaty ratification process (which requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate), Congress annexed Texas as a state by a joint resolution, with simple and fairly slim majorities in both Houses. Tyler signed the bill on 1 March 1845 . [ See also Antislavery Movement ; Jackson, Andrew ; Polk, James Knox ; ...

Liberty Party   Reference library

Joel H Silbey

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History

...1 percent of the national vote in the 1840 presidential election and just over 2 percent in 1844 . Some historians suggest that its New York State vote in the latter year denied the state to the Whig candidate, Henry Clay , and insured the election of the slaveholder James Knox Polk , but this involves the unlikely assumption that in the Liberty Party’s absence, its voters would have cast their ballots for Clay . It is more useful to see the Liberty Party as an early manifestation of a gathering movement that would culminate in the crusades of the Free...

Democratic Party   Reference library

Jean Harvey Baker

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History

...80 percent of white males were voting in national elections, with the Democrats the majority party controlling Congress and many state legislatures. From 1840 to 1860 , the Democrats displayed considerable resiliency. Although they elected presidents James Knox Polk , Franklin Pierce , and James Buchanan in this period, they faced a bitter sectional crisis. Recruiting urban German and Irish immigrants into their ranks, they achieved a nationwide constituency, only to see it shattered in the 1850 s by congressional divisions over slavery in the...

OTHER DEPARTMENTS  

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History

...de-partments are the largest units of the contemporary executive branch. Department of the Interior ( 1849 ).   Although a “home affairs” or “interior” department was proposed in the earliest days of the republic, Congress resisted until the administration of James Knox Polk . Polk ’s treasury secretary, Robert J. Walker , strongly supported an interior department, arguing that managing the public lands of an expanding nation was overly burdensome for his department. Walker was especially daunted by U.S. acquisitions of vast new territories...

Federal Government, Executive Branch   Reference library

David K. Nichols, Richard C. Sawyer, Steven L. Rearden, Pearson Bramblett, Daniel J. Tichenor, David L. Herzberg, Daniel J. Tichenor, Joshua H. Mather, Henry F. Graff, Robert David Johnson, and Jesse Stiller

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History

...de-partments are the largest units of the contemporary executive branch. Department of the Interior ( 1849 ).   Although a “home affairs” or “interior” department was proposed in the earliest days of the republic, Congress resisted until the administration of James Knox Polk . Polk ’s treasury secretary, Robert J. Walker , strongly supported an interior department, arguing that managing the public lands of an expanding nation was overly burdensome for his department. Walker was especially daunted by U.S. acquisitions of vast new territories...