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American Presidential Elections
Who Is James K. Polk?: The Presidential Election of 1844
The question Americans asked in 1844 was, “Who the hell is James K. Polk?”
Polk, of course, was not unknown, but was a highly unlikely presidential candidate given the availability of better-known options. Among the Democrats, this included Martin Van Buren, John C. Calhoun, and James Buchanan. Among the Whigs, Henry Clay was the clear frontrunner. Complicating the election were three other President John Tyler, a man without a party; Joseph Smith, the self-described prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the first presidential candidate to be assassinated; and James G. Birney, head of the antislavery Liberty ticket. On top of this remarkable cast of characters, the stakes of the election were high as the United States was undergoing a tumultuous political transition.
James K. Polk’s ascension to the White House over more notable politicians was a pivotal moment in propelling the United States towards civil war, and the 1844 election expanded the vigorous campaigning that had been growing since 1824. In Who is James K. Polk?, Mark R. Cheathem examines the transition from traditional political issues, such as banking and tariffs, to newer ones, like immigration and slavery. The book also captures the Whig and Democratic parties at a mature stage of competition and provides detailed descriptions of campaign tactics used by the candidates, including rallies, music, and political cartoons.
Cheathem has written the definitive account of this important election in this volume for the esteemed American Presidential Elections series.
Polk, of course, was not unknown, but was a highly unlikely presidential candidate given the availability of better-known options. Among the Democrats, this included Martin Van Buren, John C. Calhoun, and James Buchanan. Among the Whigs, Henry Clay was the clear frontrunner. Complicating the election were three other President John Tyler, a man without a party; Joseph Smith, the self-described prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the first presidential candidate to be assassinated; and James G. Birney, head of the antislavery Liberty ticket. On top of this remarkable cast of characters, the stakes of the election were high as the United States was undergoing a tumultuous political transition.
James K. Polk’s ascension to the White House over more notable politicians was a pivotal moment in propelling the United States towards civil war, and the 1844 election expanded the vigorous campaigning that had been growing since 1824. In Who is James K. Polk?, Mark R. Cheathem examines the transition from traditional political issues, such as banking and tariffs, to newer ones, like immigration and slavery. The book also captures the Whig and Democratic parties at a mature stage of competition and provides detailed descriptions of campaign tactics used by the candidates, including rallies, music, and political cartoons.
Cheathem has written the definitive account of this important election in this volume for the esteemed American Presidential Elections series.
- GenresPresidentsHistory
537 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 27, 2023
About the author
Mark R. Cheathem
9 books23 followersI am a historian of 19th-c. U.S. presidential history.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 10, 2024
The title of Mark Cheathem’s contribution to the University Press of Kansas’s “American Presidential Elections” series is taken from a question posed in many newspapers throughout the United States in the spring of 1844. For while the former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Tennessee governor was far from an unknown figure, he had nowhere near the stature enjoyed by the war heroes and cabinet-level secretaries who had been elected president up to that time. Yet it was Polk who had triumphed over an ex-president and a pair of former war heroes to win the Democratic nomination, and with it a chance for the presidency.
Whigs reacted with glee at the prospect of their nominee, Henry Clay, facing such an unknown and untested national candidate. Yet as Cheathem reveals, Polk’s nomination left the Democrats better positioned to take advantage of the most important issue of the day. This he demonstrates by starting with a summary of the party politics of the era, one in which the traditional issues of economics, federal versus state power, and personal character were being supplanted by questions of immigration, slavery and national expansion. The latter two were embodied in the question of Texas annexation, an issue which had loomed over national politics for nearly a decade. Since its ostensible independence from Mexico in 1836, Texas had sought a measure of stability by pursuing annexation, only to be treated cooly by federal leaders wary of the political baggage that came with it.
This changed with the unexpected accession of John Tyler to the presidency. Only nominally a Whig, the Virginian’s advocacy of slavery and states’ rights placed him out of step with the majority of his party. While this mattered little so long as William Henry Harrison, the winner of the 1840 presidential election, was the president, Harrison’s sudden death barely a month into his term catapulted Tyler to his nation’s highest office. Though his secretary of state, Daniel Webster, resisted annexation, his departure in May 1843 cleared the way for Tyler to replace him with a successor more amenable to the cause, and a treaty was negotiated between the two countries that was submitted to the Senate in April 1844.
Tyler’s efforts complicated Clay’s plans for the presidency. A longtime senator and former secretary of state, the Kentucky statesman practically hungered for the White House, which he expected to win on a campaign centered around economic issues. As the treaty was debated both in the Senate and the public, Clay decided to issue a public statement explaining the reasons for his opposition to annexation. Opposing annexation seemed a sensible choice, given that Clay’s likely opponent, Martin Van Buren, had been less than enthusiastic about annexation as president and, like Clay, preferred to frame the election as a referendum on their parties’ respective economic policies. So long as Van Buren became the nominee, events seemed likely to play out as Clay planned they would.
Instead, Van Buren’s ambitions to serve as his party’s nominee for a third consecutive election were frustrated by the party’s desire for annexation. Cheathem’s coverage of the Democratic Party’s 1844 convention is one of the highlights of the book, as he walks his readers through the balloting process that played out over three days in Baltimore. Key to Van Buren’s defeat was the Southern delegates’ determination that only a staunch supporter of slavery and annexation was acceptable as the nominee. Because of this, Van Buren’s letter opposing annexation doomed his chances, yet in the voting that ensued the delegates found themselves deadlocked between him and a half-dozen other candidates. It was not until the third day of balloting that, Polk’s name emerged, and the appearance of his name on the eighth ballot changed the dynamics. Though it took another ballot, by the end the delegates almost gratefully gave him their support as someone around whom they could rally.
The campaign that followed proved a case study of popular politics in the antebellum era. Here Cheathem draws upon his expertise in political culture to describe the various paraphernalia employed to promote the causes of the respective candidates. While the Whigs had the advantage in this area, the Senate’s rejection of the Texas annexation treaty put Clay on the wrong side of a popular issue. Complicating matters were the third-party candidates, to whom Cheathem devotes an entire chapter. Though the campaigns of Joseph Smith, James G. Birney, and John Tyler proved less than consequential, Cheathem’s coverage of their efforts demonstrates nicely the manifold factors influencing the race, from Mormonism to slavery and immigration.
Cheathem concludes that all of these factors – Texas, the presence of the abolitionist Liberty Party on the ballot in many states, nativism, the role of cultural politics, and the gubernatorial campaign of popular Democrat Silas Wright in New York – contributed to determining the outcome. The peculiar alchemy of their combination gave Polk a victory that belied the closeness of the race. While Cheathem dismisses the argument advanced by Daniel Walker Howe and others that the Liberty Party’s campaign was the key to Clay’s defeat, this does nothing to diminish the role the issue of slavery played in shaping the contest, one that proved of enormous significance in American history. Not only did Polk’s victory pave the way for Texas’s annexation, but his aggressive pursuit of expansion brought about war with Mexico, the annexation of the American Southwest, and a chain of events that ended in secession and civil war. Cheathem’s book is a reliable guide to the presidential campaign that started America down this path, and one that is likely to remain the standard history of the subject for years to come.
Whigs reacted with glee at the prospect of their nominee, Henry Clay, facing such an unknown and untested national candidate. Yet as Cheathem reveals, Polk’s nomination left the Democrats better positioned to take advantage of the most important issue of the day. This he demonstrates by starting with a summary of the party politics of the era, one in which the traditional issues of economics, federal versus state power, and personal character were being supplanted by questions of immigration, slavery and national expansion. The latter two were embodied in the question of Texas annexation, an issue which had loomed over national politics for nearly a decade. Since its ostensible independence from Mexico in 1836, Texas had sought a measure of stability by pursuing annexation, only to be treated cooly by federal leaders wary of the political baggage that came with it.
This changed with the unexpected accession of John Tyler to the presidency. Only nominally a Whig, the Virginian’s advocacy of slavery and states’ rights placed him out of step with the majority of his party. While this mattered little so long as William Henry Harrison, the winner of the 1840 presidential election, was the president, Harrison’s sudden death barely a month into his term catapulted Tyler to his nation’s highest office. Though his secretary of state, Daniel Webster, resisted annexation, his departure in May 1843 cleared the way for Tyler to replace him with a successor more amenable to the cause, and a treaty was negotiated between the two countries that was submitted to the Senate in April 1844.
Tyler’s efforts complicated Clay’s plans for the presidency. A longtime senator and former secretary of state, the Kentucky statesman practically hungered for the White House, which he expected to win on a campaign centered around economic issues. As the treaty was debated both in the Senate and the public, Clay decided to issue a public statement explaining the reasons for his opposition to annexation. Opposing annexation seemed a sensible choice, given that Clay’s likely opponent, Martin Van Buren, had been less than enthusiastic about annexation as president and, like Clay, preferred to frame the election as a referendum on their parties’ respective economic policies. So long as Van Buren became the nominee, events seemed likely to play out as Clay planned they would.
Instead, Van Buren’s ambitions to serve as his party’s nominee for a third consecutive election were frustrated by the party’s desire for annexation. Cheathem’s coverage of the Democratic Party’s 1844 convention is one of the highlights of the book, as he walks his readers through the balloting process that played out over three days in Baltimore. Key to Van Buren’s defeat was the Southern delegates’ determination that only a staunch supporter of slavery and annexation was acceptable as the nominee. Because of this, Van Buren’s letter opposing annexation doomed his chances, yet in the voting that ensued the delegates found themselves deadlocked between him and a half-dozen other candidates. It was not until the third day of balloting that, Polk’s name emerged, and the appearance of his name on the eighth ballot changed the dynamics. Though it took another ballot, by the end the delegates almost gratefully gave him their support as someone around whom they could rally.
The campaign that followed proved a case study of popular politics in the antebellum era. Here Cheathem draws upon his expertise in political culture to describe the various paraphernalia employed to promote the causes of the respective candidates. While the Whigs had the advantage in this area, the Senate’s rejection of the Texas annexation treaty put Clay on the wrong side of a popular issue. Complicating matters were the third-party candidates, to whom Cheathem devotes an entire chapter. Though the campaigns of Joseph Smith, James G. Birney, and John Tyler proved less than consequential, Cheathem’s coverage of their efforts demonstrates nicely the manifold factors influencing the race, from Mormonism to slavery and immigration.
Cheathem concludes that all of these factors – Texas, the presence of the abolitionist Liberty Party on the ballot in many states, nativism, the role of cultural politics, and the gubernatorial campaign of popular Democrat Silas Wright in New York – contributed to determining the outcome. The peculiar alchemy of their combination gave Polk a victory that belied the closeness of the race. While Cheathem dismisses the argument advanced by Daniel Walker Howe and others that the Liberty Party’s campaign was the key to Clay’s defeat, this does nothing to diminish the role the issue of slavery played in shaping the contest, one that proved of enormous significance in American history. Not only did Polk’s victory pave the way for Texas’s annexation, but his aggressive pursuit of expansion brought about war with Mexico, the annexation of the American Southwest, and a chain of events that ended in secession and civil war. Cheathem’s book is a reliable guide to the presidential campaign that started America down this path, and one that is likely to remain the standard history of the subject for years to come.
December 8, 2023
1844 is one of those elections in American history that has major consequences yet rarely gets written about. In this volume Mark R. Cheatham gives this election a long overdue examination.
Cheatham explores the background of both the Democratic and Whig parties, the presidencies of Jackson, Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, and Tyler as well as the various contenders for both parties. On the Whig side Henry Clay was widely viewed as the expected nominee. Clay's main rivals were Daniel Webster and Winfield Scott, neither of whom seemed to gain much support against Clay who was nominated.
On the Democratic side Martin Van Buren was widely expected to be the nominee but once he came against immediate annexation of Texas his old mentor Andrew Jackson began looking for a new choice. Van Buren's main competitor for the nomination was Lewis Cass. After both Van Buren and Cass were able to secure the nomination "dark horse" candidate James K. Polk was nominated.
Cheatham also explores the third party candidacies of Mormon leader Joseph Smith whose campaign ended with his murder; John Tyler who attempted to secure a second term but ultimately was persuaded to withdraw; and the Liberty party candidate James G. Birney.
The main issues of the campaign were Texas, the tariff and slavery. In the end Polk won a narrow victory over Clay in the popular vote and went on to become one of the more successful Presidents of his time.
I highly recommend this excellent book for anyone interested in American history and antebellum politics.
Cheatham explores the background of both the Democratic and Whig parties, the presidencies of Jackson, Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, and Tyler as well as the various contenders for both parties. On the Whig side Henry Clay was widely viewed as the expected nominee. Clay's main rivals were Daniel Webster and Winfield Scott, neither of whom seemed to gain much support against Clay who was nominated.
On the Democratic side Martin Van Buren was widely expected to be the nominee but once he came against immediate annexation of Texas his old mentor Andrew Jackson began looking for a new choice. Van Buren's main competitor for the nomination was Lewis Cass. After both Van Buren and Cass were able to secure the nomination "dark horse" candidate James K. Polk was nominated.
Cheatham also explores the third party candidacies of Mormon leader Joseph Smith whose campaign ended with his murder; John Tyler who attempted to secure a second term but ultimately was persuaded to withdraw; and the Liberty party candidate James G. Birney.
The main issues of the campaign were Texas, the tariff and slavery. In the end Polk won a narrow victory over Clay in the popular vote and went on to become one of the more successful Presidents of his time.
I highly recommend this excellent book for anyone interested in American history and antebellum politics.
November 19, 2023
My review is here: https://www.realclearbooks.com/articl...
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews