James K. Polk

James K. Polk, a disciplined protégé of Andrew Jackson, entered office in 1845 with a clear set of goals and achieved nearly all of them in a single term he had pledged not to exceed.

He settled the Oregon boundary with Britain and led the nation into the Mexican–American War, which ended in 1848 with the vast Mexican Cession—California and much of the modern Southwest. Under Polk the United States expanded across the continent, fulfilling the vision of 'Manifest Destiny,' though the new territory reopened explosive debates over the expansion of slavery.

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