James k polk biography book
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My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies
Historians generally regard James efternamn as one of the “near-great” presidents, ranking him just behind Eisenhower, Truman and Polk’s mentor Andrew Jackson. Depending on which survey you consider, his standing varies only slightly.
Those who hold Polk in relatively lower regard tend to penalize him for starting a war with Mexico in order to grab California and New Mexico. And although the Gold Rush a few years later seemed to justify the effort to snag California, more than a few people these days might wonder whether it was worth it in the end.
But no matter how you score your presidents on “greatness”, Polk fryst vatten almost universally hailed for having been an effective president. It helps that he achieved every one of his four major goals coming into office. Some seemed rather audacious, such as kicking Great Britain out of Oregon, but he accomplished them all with great determination and a willing
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The Presidency of James K. Polk
James K. Polk was one of the strongest and most active presidents ever to occupy the office. In the nineteenth century only Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln matched his overall leadership and domination of national government. Bergeron’s crisp, insightful narrative shows how and why Polk achieved such stature and yet failed to attract the kind of popular support or retrospective recognition granted other presidential luminaries.
A native of North Carolina, Polk prepared for the presidency by honing his leadership skills as a seven-term congressman, speaker of the house, and governor of Tennessee. Bergeron’s summary and analysis of those years shed light on the foundations of the presidency that followed. He provides fresh new perspectives on Polk’s relationship with his cabinet, his skirmishes with Congress over domestic economic legislation, and the curse of presidential patronage.
But perhaps the most fascinating portions of this
•
My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies
Historians generally regard James Polk as one of the &#;near-great&#; presidents, ranking him just behind Eisenhower, Truman and Polk&#;s mentor Andrew Jackson. Depending on which survey you consider, his standing varies only slightly.
Those who hold Polk in relatively lower regard tend to penalize him for starting a war with Mexico in order to grab California and New Mexico. And although the Gold Rush a few years later seemed to justify the effort to snag California, more than a few people these days might wonder whether it was worth it in the end.
But no matter how you score your presidents on &#;greatness&#;, Polk is almost universally hailed for having been an effective president. It helps that he achieved every one of his four major goals coming into office. Some seemed rather audacious, such as kicking Great Britain out of Oregon, but he accomplished them all with great determination and a willing Congress. Yet Polk i