James K. Polk Dbq

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Tyrant or Great Leader?
James K. Polk was a rugged, thorough, and successful commander in chief. Although James K. Polk only served one term, he was considered to be one of the more aggressive, and moving forward presidents to ever hold office. Polk came across as either a very great man, or as a man who missed great opportunities.
James K. Polk had a rough childhood, but as he got older it began to get better. He was born on November 2nd 1795 in Pineville North Carolina, to father Samuel Polk (1772-1827) and mother Jane Polk (1776-1852). He was the eldest of 10 children, but lived in a very poor family. In addition to being nicknamed "Young Hickory," Polk, an eloquent orator who was small in stature, was dubbed "Napoleon of the Stump." Through his first years he was never formally enrolled in any schools he went to a Presbyterian elementary. He lived in North Carolina for the first 10 years of his life, the moved to Tennessee (500 miles) with his family, walking the whole time. His father died later after that trip. James K. Polk went back to North Carolina to practice law. He then got a law degree, and passed the bar exam. He later opened a law practice in Columbia in Columbia in 1820. In 1823 he became interested in politics, and was elected to the Tennessee House of …show more content…
Polk was nicknamed "Dark Horse" because he was the underdog during the whole election. James K. Polk was an experienced speaker and he campaigned vigorously. One of the main Polk won the election was because of his view points on Manifest Destiny. His opponent Henery Clay didn’t have any points at all. Although Clay had many good view points, and Polk was the underdog James K. Polk beat Henery Clay on November 5th 1844. The first lady became Sarah Childress taking her husbands last name and becoming Sarah Polk (1803-1891) The Polk's never had any children, and were one of the three that did
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