Polk, James K.


A political leader of the nineteenth century; Polk, a Democrat, was president from 1845 to 1849. An ardent believer in manifest destiny, he led the United States into the Mexican War. In his presidency, the United States acquired Texas and California and large territories in between.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.