Merry, Robert W.
A country of vast designs : James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the conquest of the American continent / James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the conquest of the American continent Robert W. Merry. - 1st Simon & Schuster hardcover ed. - New York : Simon & Schuster, c2009. - x, 576 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., map, ports. ; 25 cm.
Ritual of democracy: the emergence of an expansionist president --
Young Hickory: the making of a Jackson protégé --
Tennessee and Washington: the rise and fall of a presidential loyalist --
The 1844 election: searching for a means of political recovery --
Texas: dawn of a new era --
Baltimore: America's first political dark horse --
Polk vs. Clay: answering the question, "Who is James K. Polk?" --
The victor: preparing for the mantle of leadership --
Taking charge: America's zest for grand ambitions --
Annexation complete: diplomacy, intrigue, and the force of politics --
The United States and Oregon: "The people here are worn out by delay" --
The United States and Mexico: divergent new world cultures on a path to war --
Britain and Mexico: playing with prospects of a dual war --
The Twenty-ninth Congress: Polk takes command of the national agenda --
End of a treaty: diplomacy and politics at war with each other --
War: "Every consideration of duty and patriotism" --
Vagaries of war: "And may there be no recreant soul to fail or falter now" --
Presidential temperament: "I prefer to supervise the whole operations of the government" --
Wilmot's proviso: transformation of the war debate --
The war in the West: patriotism, duty, adventure, and glory --
The new face of war: "We are yet to have a long and wearisome struggle" --
The politics of rancor: constitutional usurpation vs. moral treason --
Dilatory Congress: the challenge of presidential leadership --
Veracruz and beyond: grappling with Mexico's military defiance --
Scott and Trist: a clash of policy and temperament --
Mexico City: the pivot of personality --
The specter of conquest: "Have we conquered peace? Have we obtained a treaty?" --
Treaty: from Trist to Polk to the Senate --
Peace: California, New Mexico, and the Union --
Final months: "Solemnly impressed with the ... emptiness of worldly honors" --
Legacy: the price of presidential accomplishment.
When James K. Polk was elected president in 1844, the United States was lock in a bitter diplomatic struggle with Britain over the Oregon Territory. Texas was threatened by Mexico. When Polk relinquished office four years later, the country had grown by more than a third as all these lands were added. In a one-term presidency, Polk completed the story of America's Manifest Destiny, extending its territory across the continent from sea to sea. Merry examines how, in a one-term presidency, James K. Polk completed the story of America's Manifest Destiny by expanding its territory across the continent.
94812
9780743297431 : 0743297431 :
2009024131
Polk, James K. 1795-1849
Presidents--United States
United States--Politics and government--1845-1849
United States--Territorial expansion--History--19th century
973.61092 Mer 15
A country of vast designs : James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the conquest of the American continent / James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the conquest of the American continent Robert W. Merry. - 1st Simon & Schuster hardcover ed. - New York : Simon & Schuster, c2009. - x, 576 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., map, ports. ; 25 cm.
Ritual of democracy: the emergence of an expansionist president --
Young Hickory: the making of a Jackson protégé --
Tennessee and Washington: the rise and fall of a presidential loyalist --
The 1844 election: searching for a means of political recovery --
Texas: dawn of a new era --
Baltimore: America's first political dark horse --
Polk vs. Clay: answering the question, "Who is James K. Polk?" --
The victor: preparing for the mantle of leadership --
Taking charge: America's zest for grand ambitions --
Annexation complete: diplomacy, intrigue, and the force of politics --
The United States and Oregon: "The people here are worn out by delay" --
The United States and Mexico: divergent new world cultures on a path to war --
Britain and Mexico: playing with prospects of a dual war --
The Twenty-ninth Congress: Polk takes command of the national agenda --
End of a treaty: diplomacy and politics at war with each other --
War: "Every consideration of duty and patriotism" --
Vagaries of war: "And may there be no recreant soul to fail or falter now" --
Presidential temperament: "I prefer to supervise the whole operations of the government" --
Wilmot's proviso: transformation of the war debate --
The war in the West: patriotism, duty, adventure, and glory --
The new face of war: "We are yet to have a long and wearisome struggle" --
The politics of rancor: constitutional usurpation vs. moral treason --
Dilatory Congress: the challenge of presidential leadership --
Veracruz and beyond: grappling with Mexico's military defiance --
Scott and Trist: a clash of policy and temperament --
Mexico City: the pivot of personality --
The specter of conquest: "Have we conquered peace? Have we obtained a treaty?" --
Treaty: from Trist to Polk to the Senate --
Peace: California, New Mexico, and the Union --
Final months: "Solemnly impressed with the ... emptiness of worldly honors" --
Legacy: the price of presidential accomplishment.
When James K. Polk was elected president in 1844, the United States was lock in a bitter diplomatic struggle with Britain over the Oregon Territory. Texas was threatened by Mexico. When Polk relinquished office four years later, the country had grown by more than a third as all these lands were added. In a one-term presidency, Polk completed the story of America's Manifest Destiny, extending its territory across the continent from sea to sea. Merry examines how, in a one-term presidency, James K. Polk completed the story of America's Manifest Destiny by expanding its territory across the continent.
94812
9780743297431 : 0743297431 :
2009024131
Polk, James K. 1795-1849
Presidents--United States
United States--Politics and government--1845-1849
United States--Territorial expansion--History--19th century
973.61092 Mer 15