QUICK FACTS
Nickname: Young Hickory
Years in office: 1845–1849
Political party: Democratic
Birthday: November 2, 1795
Official presidential portrait of James K. Polk
by George Peter Alexander Healy, 1858
Gold Nugget, 1848 (National Museum of American History)
This small piece of gold sparked the gold rush, a mass movement of Americans to the west. It is thought to be the first piece of gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill in California. President Polk received this and other pieces as evidence of the discovery of gold.
James K. Polk was our country’s first dark-horse candidate to win the presidency. His close political ties to Andrew Jackson earned him the nickname “Young Hickory.” His main opponent was Whig candidate, Henry Clay. Clay was favored, but failed to take a stance on expansion and Texas Annexation. Polk was elected, and kept his campaign promise to only serve one term in office.
BIRTHPLACE
Pineville, NC
BATTLE OF PALO ALTO
Mexican-American War, TX
HOME
Columbia, TN
GRAVESITE
State Capitol, Nashville, TN
BOOKS
Davis, Kenneth C., and Pedro Martin. Don’t Know Much about the Presidents. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2014.
DeGregorio, William A., and Aaron Jaffe. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books, Inc., 2017.
Kane, Joseph Nathan, and Janet Podell. Facts about the Presidents: A Compilation of Biographical and Historical Information. New York: H.W. Wilson, 2009.
WEBSITES
Encyclopedia Britannica, britannica.com
Library of Congress, loc.gov
Miller Center, University of Virginia, millercenter.org/the-presidency
The White House, whitehouse.gov
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