历届美国总统简介：詹姆斯·诺克斯·波尔克（在线收听）

詹姆斯·波尔克是安德鲁·杰克逊的忠实门徒，有小山核桃之称，他在1844年大选成僵局时，异军突起，成为第一个黑马总统。在短短的四年任期内，完成了对选民的四大承诺：降低关税；恢复独立国库制；解决俄勒冈边界问题；取得加利福尼亚地区。把美国领土向北扩张到北纬49°线，向西扩张到太平洋，向南几乎兼并了墨西哥一半领土，今天美国领土的1/4是他取得的，他每天工作18小时以上，而且没有休闲活动，以至于未老先衰，离开白宫三个月就病逝了，他被历史学家评为美国最勤奋最有效率的总统。

James Knox Polk was America’s eleventh President. He was born in North Carolina, in 1795. He was the eldest of ten children. His father traded in slaves and was a farmer. Studious and industrious, Polk graduated with honors in 1818 from the University of North Carolina. As a young lawyer he entered politics, served in the Tennessee legislature, and became a friend of Andrew Jackson.

In the House of Representatives, Polk was a chief lieutenant of Jackson in his Bank war. He served as Speaker between 1835 and 1839, leaving to become Governor of Tennessee. Polk became the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1844 after arguing for the annexation of Texas and Oregon. He won the 1844 presidential election to become the first “dark horse” president.

As President, Polk threatened war with Britain over annexing Oregon. A treaty was signed in 1846 after the British settled for land north of the 49th parallel, which today is the Canada border. Polk fought a war with Mexico between 1846 and 1848. American forces won repeated victories and gained New Mexico and California for the USA. Polk also tried to buy Cuba from Spain in 1848 but was unsuccessful.

Polk left office due to bad health in 1849. He had promised to serve only one term. He oversaw the opening of the Smithsonian Institute and the U.S. Naval Academy, and the groundbreaking for the Washington Monument. The first U.S. postage stamps were also issued during his presidency. Historians call him America’s “least known consequential president”. He died of cholera on June 15, 1849.