A Country of Vast Designs

James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent

Robert W. Merry

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN:
  9780743297448
• eBook ISBN:
  9781439160459
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

President James K. Polk, often overlooked yet ever-consequential, comes to life in this “compelling, perceptive” (The Wall Street Journal) biography of the 11th President of the United States, Andrew Jackson’s protégé, and champion of “manifest destiny.”

When James K. Polk was elected president in 1844, the United States was locked in a bitter diplomatic struggle with Britain over which country would inherit the rich lands of the Oregon Territory. Texas, not yet part of the Union, was beset by hostile pressures from a more powerful Mexico. The great lands west of Texas—including what would become California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico—belonged to Mexico. Four years later, when Polk relinquished power, the country had grown by half. Oregon belonged to the United States, as did Texas and all the lands to the west stretching to the Pacific. In bringing this about, Polk expended huge quantities of political capital through bold and often divisive decision making.

This is the dramatic narrative of that grand national ambition that went by the name of Manifest Destiny—the idea that it was America's fate to emerge as the greatest power of the Americas, with consolidated territory that stretched from sea to sea and with a capacity to project influence forcefully toward both Europe and Asia. This national dream and ambition turned out to be bigger than any man or any party or ideological outlook that took its place in the national debates of the time.

Told through the towering figures of that time—such as the outgoing president John Tyler and Polk's great mentor, Andrew Jackson—A Country of Vast Designs captures the enormity of this national dream and provides profound insight into this era in America's history.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction: Ritual of Democracy: The Emergence of an Expansionist President
• 1. Young Hickory: The Making of a Jackson Protégé
• 2. Tennessee and Washington: The Rise and Fall of a Presidential Loyalist
• 3. The 1844 Election: Searching for a Means of Political Recovery
• 4. Texas: Dawn of a New Era
• 5. Baltimore: America’s First Political Dark Horse
• 6. Polk vs. Clay: Answering the Question, “Who Is James K. Polk?”
• 7. The Victor: Preparing for the Mantle of Leadership
• 8. Taking Charge: America’s Zest for Grand Ambitions
• 9. Annexation Complete: Diplomacy, Intrigue, and the Force of Politics
• 10. The United States and Oregon: “The People Here Are Worn Out by Delay”
• 11. The United States and Mexico: Divergent New World Cultures on a Path to War
• 12. Britain and Mexico: Playing with Prospects of a Dual War
• 13. The Twenty-ninth Congress: Polk Takes Command of the National Agenda
• 14. End of a Treaty: Diplomacy and Politics at War with Each Other
• 15. War: “Every Consideration of Duty and Patriotism”
• 16. Vagaries of War: “And May There Be No Recreant Soul to Fail or Falter Now”
• 17. Presidential Temperament: “I Prefer to Supervise the Whole Operations of the Government”
• 18. Wilmot’s Proviso: Transformation of the War Debate
• 19. The War in the West: Patriotism, Duty, Adventure, and Glory
• 20. The New Face of War: “We Are Yet to Have a Long and Wearisome Struggle”
• 21. The Politics of Rancor: Constitutional Usurpation vs. Moral Treason
• 22. Dilatory Congress: The Challenge of Presidential Leadership
• 23. Veracruz and Beyond: Grappling with Mexico’s Military Defiance
• 24. Scott and Trist: A Clash of Policy and Temperament
• 25. Mexico City: The Pivot of Personality
• 26. The Specter of Conquest: “Have We Conquered Peace? Have We Obtained a Treaty?”
• 27. Treaty: From Trist to Polk to the Senate
• 28. Peace: California, New Mexico, and the Union
• 29. Final Months: “Solemnly Impressed with the … Emptiness of Worldly Honors”
• Epilogue: Legacy: The Price of Presidential Accomplishment
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgments
• Index
• Insert
• Footnote