Matt Costello: Even though he does get the declaration of war,
not all members of Congress and not the public are entirely
convinced that either what has happened or that these
boundaries are as the president has framed them.
Colleen Shogan: In 1844, newspapers across the United
States asked a simple question: Who is James K. Polk? The
Tennessee Democrat had emerged almost out of nowhere to win his
party's presidential nomination. Polk promised an ambitious
agenda, one that included admitting Texas into the Union
and greater territorial expansion, and he pledged to do
it all in a single term. By some measure, Polk was among the most
successful presidents in American history. He fulfilled
almost all of his campaign promises. But as today's guest,
Matthew Costello reminds us, those achievements came at a
great cost to the nation. So, what can we learn from Polk's
energetic administration? I'm Colleen Shogan, and this is In
Pursuit, a podcast that explores lessons from America's past to
rate the history of America's future. Episode nine: James K.
Polk Manifests a Destiny. Matt Costello, welcome to In Pursuit.
Matt Costello: Thank you, Colleen, for having me.
Colleen Shogan: So, in 1844, newspapers across the United
States asked the same question: Who is James K. Polk? So, we'll
start with that question: Who is James Polk?
Matt Costello: Well, a big part of the reason why people were
asking that question was because he was a relative unknown beyond
his brief tenure as Speaker of the House in Washington, he had
come from humble beginnings in North Carolina, later Tennessee,
became a state politician, and then he sort of ascended the
ranks of the party to ultimately become Speaker of the House. He
returns to Tennessee, he wins one race, loses two more, and
really sort of was seen as on the decline of a political
career. And so, how he somehow manages to become the Democratic
presidential candidate in 1844 is really quite astounding. And
so, many of his contemporaries at that time were simply asking,
"Who is James K. Polk? They also sort of meant it as a slight in
some ways, that nobody knew who he was, he couldn't even win
elections in Tennessee. So certainly, he was not going to
win the presidency. And lo and behold, today we know him as our
11th president of the United States.
Colleen Shogan: So it was meant to be derogatory, but then it
turned out to actually be something that Polk adopted.
Matt Costello: Yes, and we've seen this many times in American
politics, where one side can create nicknames for another
side, or they can create slights and insults. And ultimately,
what happens is the individual and their supporters are able to
co-opt it and turn it around and use it to their advantage. And
with James K. Polk, of course, the question was, "Who is James
K. Polk? And his supporters, after he won, responded, "He is
president of the United States."
Colleen Shogan: So even before his career in politics, Polk
purchased a number of plantations. So talk to us about
that early part of his life. Why did he do that, and what was the
role of slavery in that early part of his career?
Matt Costello: Well, Polk grew up in North Carolina, when his
father passes away in the 1820s, he receives more than two dozen
enslaved people from his estate. So you know he had always been
around slavery, not only in terms of his childhood and later
adult life, but he profited from it, as did his family. It was
part of this move to the what they would call the frontier in
Tennessee in those days, but that was one way to ascend the
social and political ladder. Was not only winning elections but
also acquiring property. And in those days, it was enslaved
people. And over time, he marries Sarah Polk. They acquire
more people, more land, and ultimately he becomes a member,
really sort of of the more affluent slaveholding gentry, he
positions himself in Tennessee social circles as a benevolent
slaveholder. Beyond all that, you have to keep in mind it's
enslaved people that are really providing the means to sustain
the Polks, to help their livelihood, to help their
economic well-being. And so, for James K. Polk, by the time he
becomes president of the United States, slavery has played a
major role in fueling his rise on the political scene, and
it'll play a huge part in his presidency as well.
Colleen Shogan: When he starts his political career in
Tennessee, he becomes a protege of Andrew Jackson. So, how does
that happen, and what effect does that end up having on
Polk's career?
Matt Costello: Well, it has a fairly dramatic effect when you
look at American politics in the 1820s. Nobody really looms
larger than Andrew Jackson. First, losing the presidency in
1824, of course, decrying this as The Corrupt Bargain. That was
how John Quincy Adams was able to win. But there's no doubt in
1828 when Jackson wins the presidency. And so those that
are aligned and supporting Jackson also fall in line with
all the different things that Jackson then promises after the
fact. Quite an extensive patronage network. And so when
Polk is ascending the ladder in Tennessee state politics, and
then later he's elected to Congress. Right around that same
time, they're both Tennessee gentlemen. They're both
slaveholders. They're both members. One is the leader of
the Democratic Party. Another one is an up-and-comer in the
Democratic Party. And so they develop this bond, in so much so
that Jackson, who was famously called Old Hickory, Polk is
nicknamed Young Hickory to sort of signify that relationship
between those two, and then probably the parts where Jackson
weighs in the most to help lift Polk in his climb is that it's
really Jackson's support that helps get Polk the speaker's
gavel in 1835. Needless to say, Polk wouldn't have climbed I
think as quickly or as rapidly as he did, without the patronage
of Andrew Jackson.
Colleen Shogan: Another thing that Andrew Jackson does is that
he encourages James Polk to marry Sarah Polk. In your essay
for *In Pursuit* you write that Sarah Polk has a tremendous
impact on James K. Polk's political career.
Matt Costello: We talk a lot about first ladies as, and I
think there's this misconception that they're just sort of
hostesses. They're more purely for hospitality reasons. But
Sarah Polk was a political operator. I mean, she kept up on
the news. She read newspapers. She was from a fairly
well-educated, affluent background. She brings all of
this into the marriage with James, and she also asserts more
of herself into his political dealings. Now, remember, at this
time, women were not expected to be involved in American
politics. There was very much this idea of politics is for men
and domestic affairs is for women. But Sarah Polk is able to
navigate those two worlds really quite seamlessly. She's giving
input on speeches. She's giving him her feedback on policy
issues. There's even moments where she's really more or less
controlling access to her husband.
Colleen Shogan: Sounds like she was his chief of staff.
Matt Costello: Yeah, in some ways.
Colleen Shogan: Maybe she was the first female chief of staff.
Matt Costello: You could define it that way. Yes, I mean Sarah
Polk is just one example of a litany of examples of not only
women who were married to presidents, but also daughters,
daughters-in-law who also played similar roles in shaping and
influencing either policy decisions or political positions
that I think have long been overlooked.
Colleen Shogan: And Polk had to accept her role in that-I mean,
she could offer her opinion, but it had to be solicited by him.
That indicates that Polk had some different opinions, at
least inwardly, for that time period.
Matt Costello: Yeah, and I think James K. Polk also realized that
there was much greater benefit seeking out Sarah's counsel as
opposed to simply going his own way, and I think that was an
extension of that longer relationship of his climb of the
political ladder that he had oftentimes turned to Sarah for
advice or for her opinions, and so she plays a major role,
especially when he's climbing in Tennessee because her family is
so well connected; they're known. So she plays a major role
in that ascent.
Colleen Shogan: So he does climb the ladder in Tennessee, and he
becomes speaker. But by the early 1840s, his career is hit
the skids. So what happens, and how does he get out of it?
Matt Costello: It's an excellent question because it seems as
though, as the story is going, Polk is on the rise, but it
doesn't quite materialize that way. He decides to leave
Congress to run to be governor of Tennessee, which is quite
common. We see that often the 19th century, where members of
Congress decide, you know what, I am going to try my luck in my
home state. Maybe they'll like me more, and
Colleen Shogan: you know, to be a chief executive versus a
legislator. There is a lot of reasons,
Matt Costello: and it also helps build and broaden that
experience. And so he goes back to Tennessee. He wins one
election, but then in the re-election campaign, he loses,
and then he runs again and loses a second time. And so, really,
at this point, if you're not part of a current presidential
administration, you're no longer in Congress. You've lost
multiple elections. I mean, you're starting to become stale.
Really, people start to forget about you, or they start
thinking of you as incapable of winning, and so I think for
Polk, having lost twice in his own home state after being
governor, after being speaker of the House, it certainly looked
like to many that his rise was over.
Colleen Shogan: So it's 1844. What's going on in the country?
What are the major debates that the United States is facing?
Matt Costello: There's a few things. One of the biggest
issues that's facing the United States is the annexation of
Texas. Now, this had gone on for the last decade or so, but in a
series of different conflicts and wars and competing land
claims, you had at different points an independent Republic
of Texas, and then a push for Texas. Statehood to be admitting
to the Union, while all happening at the same time as
the rise of abolitionist sentiment is happening. More and
more people who are opposed to slavery see this as a real
problem because if you admit a state like Texas as a slave
state, in theory, based on the Missouri Compromise, there
should be a free state admitted to offset the inclusion of a
balance
Colleen Shogan: rule, right? Correct. But if
Matt Costello: you don't have that balance, there's obviously
a concern that now Congress will be further imbalanced towards
states that permit slavery, and that this will really change the
dynamics of how Congress works. And so that is sort of the
biggest pressing issue. It's something that envelopes Martin
Van Buren towards the end of his administration, he of course
steps forward as the favored candidate initially of the
Democratic Party in 1844. But here we are in 1844. He had
opposed annexation of Texas, and so that members of the
Democratic Party, particularly those from the South and the
West, do not see Van Buren as their preferred candidate of
choice.
Colleen Shogan: You know, if you take a history course or a
political science course on the presidency, you will learn that
James K. Polk is the first dark horse candidate for the
presidency in American history. What does that mean?
Matt Costello: Well, the origins of the term actually go back to
horse racing, and the idea there was to call someone a dark horse
was essentially a horse that when you were betting you didn't
anticipate them to win the race. We have a slew of different
terms to describe this individual or person or sports
team today, but dark horse was really more of a race betting
term, and then it gets applied to James K. Polk, and then
there's a subsequent slew of presidents that come through
that achieve a similar status. These candidates who really sort
of come out of nowhere, or they come from smaller states that
the party insiders did not anticipate them capturing the
nomination. And so, because James K. Polk is so unexpected,
this is why they refer to him as the dark horse candidate.
Colleen Shogan: And he's able to secure the nomination at the
party convention.
Matt Costello: Yes, I also should say that he himself isn't
really securing the nomination. He gets a big push from people
who have connections to Andrew Jackson, and when Jackson makes
it clear that his favorite candidate is Polk as opposed to
Van Buren, well, the dominoes fall into place, and then all of
a sudden, this twice election losing governor from Tennessee
is now the Democratic Party's nominee for the election of
1844.
Colleen Shogan: What does he promise to do if he's elected
president?
Matt Costello: Well, he makes several key promises. It makes
sense that this platform would resonate with the Democratic
Party, particularly in the South and in the West. The big one is
that he really wants to settle the annexation of Texas. Now, as
we get closer to him taking office, this will be something
that Congress does with outgoing President John Tyler. But the
annexation of Texas and pushing forward on Texas
statehood-that's a big one. He wants to acquire more territory
in the West, specifically California.
Colleen Shogan: Is this the Manifest Destiny?
Matt Costello: Yes, and Manifest Destiny. I should say that this
idea of expansionism is not a new one. It's been going on for
you know you could argue centuries, really, in North
America with colonists and settlers, and then later
Americans going west and pushing Native Americans really off
their lands and out of the way to acquire more territory. And
with Polk, he really sees the future of the United States out
west, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. And so, between the Texas
question, acquiring more territory in the West, which
includes California, settling the dispute with Great Britain
and Oregon Territory, he also wants to establish a separate,
independent treasury, and he wants to reduce tariffs, so it's
sort of a mix of different economic agenda items. But also,
he sees expansion as critical to the future of the United States.
And he makes these promises. And say what you will about James K.
Polk, he gets them all enacted. He gets them all done in one
term.
Colleen Shogan: And he also promises only to serve one term.
Now, why would he do that?
Matt Costello: It's a great question. Most politicians would
not campaign and say, "I'm.."
Colleen Shogan: because you're immediately a lame duck.
Matt Costello: Right. If I'm elected, I will only serve one
term, and these are the things I will do. It was shockingly
honest. You couldn't tell if he was actually being genuine about
these things, or he was hoping to get this, almost like he's a
disinterested leader. He's only going to serve this amount of
time, do this amount of things, and then leave. It's a
remarkable statement because it's not one that I think
politicians certainly would make today. But you know, Polk is a
relatively young man. He also believes that he can get these
things done in a single term.
Colleen Shogan: He's only in his 40s when he's elected, correct?
Matt Costello: Yeah, I believe he's 49 when you say. I mean, at
this point in time, he's the youngest person to serve as
president of the United States.
Colleen Shogan: He's like the John Kennedy of the 1840s
Matt Costello: Yeah, and I think much like Kennedy, he also
talked at this vision of progress. Now, very different
visions of progress, right?
Colleen Shogan: Different vision.
Matt Costello: But in Polk's time. You know the progress for
the United States of America was creating a continental nation
and really sort of pushing the British or settling the British
question more in the Northwest, acquiring additional territory
from Mexico and really sort of securing this expansion of
territory to open up further economic opportunities for
Americans. And so I think most people thought there's no way
he's only going to serve one time. I'm I'm sure he'll find a
way to turn. But how would he get
Colleen Shogan: all this done? Right, right, right. And how
Matt Costello: and how could he honestly do all these really
major economic and foreign policy things? But he's able to
do it in four years, which is pretty remarkable.
Colleen Shogan: So explain to us the contest in the border
between Texas, the United States, and Mexico, and what
does Polk do to provoke really a war that ends up leading to the
expansion that you're talking about?
Matt Costello: So I mentioned earlier that President John
Tyler agrees to the resolution by Congress to the annexation of
Texas. The problem is, is that the United States and Mexico
have different ideas of where that boundary ultimately ends,
and because this isn't agreed upon in a treaty, instead what
you have is two sovereign countries disagreeing about
exactly where one ends and the other begins.
Colleen Shogan: That sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Matt Costello: It really is, and Polk does attempt through
diplomatic means first to try to get Mexico to agree to those
terms. He does send an ambassador to Mexico City to try
to see if there's any kind of negotiation that could happen,
but ultimately Mexico doesn't recognize that boundary. And
what Polk decides to do next-it was controversial, even in his
own time, but certainly controversial today. He decides
to order American troops into the contested territory.
Colleen Shogan: It's contested, but he says it's he says it's
American soil, right?
Matt Costello: He says we annexed this territory, and the
outer boundary of the United States of America is now the Rio
Grande River, Mexico doesn't see it that way. They say that
actually it's a little bit further north in the Nusselt
River. So we have a disagreement about exactly where these two
sovereign nations end. And so because Polk then sends troops
into that territory, Mexico interprets it as an invasion,
and they attack, and there's a skirmish, and pretty soon Polk
is asking Congress for a declaration of war against
Mexico
Colleen Shogan: Because American blood has been shed on American
soil.
Matt Costello: Yep, and he sees it now as it is a war of
defense, a war of patriotism, a war to protect the United
States. Now, not it's
Colleen Shogan: almost a total reframe.
Matt Costello: Not everybody sees it that way. Even though he
does get the declaration of war, not all members of Congress and
not the public are entirely convinced that either what has
happened or that these boundaries are as the president
has framed them,
Colleen Shogan: including Abraham Lincoln.
Matt Costello: Yeah, and Lincoln is serving in Congress at the
time, and he continuously keeps putting up a resolution, which
famously today we call the spot resolution, and it's not about
getting a spot out of clothing. It's more about show me the
exact spot where American blood was spilled on American soil.
Nobody's contesting that American blood was spilled, but
Lincoln's point is show us the spot on American soil because
Lincoln knows this is contested territory, and that really Polk
has provoked this escalation of a conflict by sending American
troops into contested territory.
Colleen Shogan: One of the things that fascinates me about
Polk is that just like I mentioned that Sarah Polk could
be considered the first chief of staff, I think that James Polk
could be considered the first director of the Office of
Management and Budget, because he does an extraordinary thing
when he's president. He lowers the tariff, so he lowers taxes.
The tariff is really equates to what taxation is in the United
States at that point in time. He lowers the taxes, and he also
wages a fairly expensive Mexican War. But he manages to do that
through this really effective control of the budget, Polk is
able to actually partially pay for the war through the issuing
of bonds. So this idea that the government could issue bonds and
pay back those bonds with interest at a later date-it was
sort of a creative way to get around the typical congressional
appropriations process. Now further on, Congress does
appropriate money for the war, but this is a way to sort of
initially get around these things. What's fascinating about
this is that it's something that we
Matt Costello: What's fascinating about this is that
it's something that we get accustomed to seeing presidents
do time and time again in instances of war, because
Congress isn't always immediately on board. I mean,
they might agree and issue a declaration of war, but the
appropriations don't always immediately hit that quickly,
and so he creates this precedent that presidents can have greater
flexibility when it comes to things like appropriations and
funding, especially in a moment of crisis, conflict, or war.
Colleen Shogan: When I was in graduate school, I wrote a short
paper. On centralization and politicization in the 19th
century, and I found in Polk's diaries what he would do. He
stayed in Washington D.C. in the summer, which absolutely no one
did. No one, and I think people would not appreciate that the
budgeting process in the United States was not centralized in
any way the way that it is that we appreciate today, so he would
call all of these different bureau chiefs into his office,
and it was very hot. It was 80-590, degrees, no air
conditioning, and he would make them stand in front of him in
the White House, and they were not allowed to sit. He was
allowed to sit, but they were not allowed to sit, and he would
go through their budget line by line and make them justify every
line in their budget until many of them just simply gave up and
said, "Okay, I'll accept the cuts that you want to make." So
once again, this was another way in which he was able to lower
the tariff and also finance the war.
Matt Costello: Well, yeah, and that story reminds me of you
know some biographers have referred to Polk as what we
think of today as like a workaholic. I mean, he was
somebody who was up early. He didn't take breaks. Is this part
of growing up? You know, he was much more sickly as a child. He
had a lot of illnesses, and so was this more like he was really
trying to take advantage of the time he had while he had it, but
he worked long hours. He did not shy away from getting into the
weeds, whether it was a policy position, whether it was
appropriations. He really would dive into these things, and it
makes also in my mind a lot of sense that if, on one hand,
you're trying to rally support for a war that is controversial,
while at the same time fulfill another promise to say reduce
the tariff, well, you're going to have to look at government
spending. You can't wage war and be spending money there without
making reductions somewhere else.
Colleen Shogan: And Polk doesn't last too long after his
presidency is done. He dies a few months later. Is that right?
Matt Costello: Yeah, they leave the White House in 1849. I
believe they go down to New Orleans, and then they go up the
Mississippi River back to Tennessee. But it's fascinating.
You look at Polk's diary, and he talks about coming across all
these different outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne
illness outbreaks, and ultimately, it is cholera that
he contracts, and he ends up dying. It's only a few months
after he leaves the presidency.
Colleen Shogan: So, if you look at James K. Polk's presidency,
you could say, as we've gone over in this discussion, a lot
of successes in that he fulfilled the promises that he
made when he campaigned, or when he was at least the nominee for
president. But what were the long-term ramifications or
effects of some of his decisions?
Matt Costello: Yeah, you're absolutely right. If we were
looking at this purely in terms of a leader who sets an agenda,
makes promises, and he keeps them, one could argue that James
K. Polk was probably one of our more successful presidents.
However, he's not really remembered that way today. So
why is that? Well, a big part of it is because of what comes
after Polk. Now he doesn't live very long, like we talked about.
But it's interesting, though. Sarah Polk lives for many years.
She lives to see the Civil War, and she lives to see the
consequences of some of these policy decisions. What I argue
in the essay is that Polk accelerates the road to the
Civil War, and that these decisions-the expansion of the
United States, continuing to add new territory without having a
real solution about slavery in the West-continues to add fuel
to this fire. And because while we can say that Polk is partly
responsible for that road, none of his successors are really
able to steer the country out of it. And ultimately, what we have
is a civil war. We have two warring sides. Ultimately, more
than 600,000 Americans will lose their lives in the civil war.
And even then, you feel the ramifications of the civil war
well beyond the time that it happens, and so I think yes,
Polk was successful in negotiating the treaty with
Great Britain and settling the Oregon Territory. He acquired
California, which you could argue was a very valuable
acquisition for the United States in the long term. Just
when you're thinking about things like the Gold Rush and
World War II and having to send troops, I mean, there's a lot
just with acquiring California, but it's a move that ultimately
will create tremendous strain with the country of Mexico. It
displaces Native Americans even further, not only from having
them been moved once west of the Mississippi, but now further
crowded into reservations and Indian Territory, and ultimately
it really hardens politics around the issue of slavery and
its expansion. And because those things happen as a result of
this expansion during the Mexican-American War, we
ultimately end up with a war.
Colleen Shogan: In pursuit is trying to find rel. Lessons in
our nation's history. So when we look at James K. Polk, what can
we learn from his leadership and his presidency that would be
relevant to us today?
Matt Costello: Well, a few things. I think one, there is
something to appreciate and admire about Polk in that he was
a dark horse candidate. Nobody expected him, or maybe nobody
really truly valued him in that capacity. But not only was he
able to capture the nomination, but he was able to lay out a
very clear agenda and accomplish an agenda. There's value in
that. At the same time, we also have to acknowledge that we
shouldn't measure presidential success solely on who wins
elections and whether or not they achieve the agenda items
that they set out or the promises that they make, you
know, success of a presidency is much more than that. And
oftentimes we think of the presidency in those terms, which
is very short term. It's very contemporary, and then when we
start to think more about James K. Polk's impact beyond, say,
1849 when he dies. What we see is that there were devastating,
tragic consequences for some of his policy decisions. He didn't
live long enough to actually see some of these things, and
ultimately, you can't help but feel as though his actions or
inactions at times helped contribute to setting this
country on the road to civil war.
Colleen Shogan: Matt Costello, thank you so much for joining us
today on In Pursuit.
Matt Costello: Thank you for having me.
Colleen Shogan: To read Matthew Costello's essay on James Polk
and to enjoy other great In Pursuit essays and podcasts,
visit inpursuit.org. In Pursuit with Colleen Shogan is a podcast
by More Perfect. The series is written and produced by Jim
Ambuske. Production services provided by Stand Together. Our
theme music is Kleos by Charlie Ryan. Audio mixing by Curt Dahl
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