A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent [Rauer Buchschnitt] [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

"A Country of Vast Designs" is an excellent reminder of how a well researched and well written book can illuminate what was an otherwise dark and often forgotten piece of the American landscape. Merry's detailed and colorful story telling add depth, perspective and entertainment. For example, his account of the Democratic nomination of 1844 reminds us how crafty our nineteenth century politician were - orchestrating power plays in whispers and back rooms - and how luck played a major role in one's nomination. Particularly gripping is the brief description of the removal of Polk's bladder stone under the anesthetic of the day - bourbon, an episode which more than likely left him impotent.

What most impresses me about this book is how faithful Merry is to Polk's character - for better or for worse. He manages to take a less-than-appealing historical figure and neither lionize nor villainize him. Instead we come to know a man who had a bigger impact on our nation's history than he is popularly given credit for. And whether or not the gains to our boarders were ill gotten does not change the fact that we are fundamentally a different place for all his work.

The book is a fascinating read for those looking to understand the generation of presidents that was born after the founding fathers - that second group of leaders who had the difficult job of stewarding the US through its early adolescence, and making manifest the aspirations of the founding generation. We all should understand more about Polk. Merry's book is an appealing and sophisticated way in.

Quick! How many books have you read on James Knox Polk (1795-1849) our eleventh President of the United States? Most honest readers would admit to perusing none and knowing little about this important president! Robert Merry's excellent biography of Polk and his tumultous times hopes to rectify the paucity of knowledge most citizens have of Polk and his age.
James Knox Polk was born in North Carolina in 1795. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he became a lawyer coming under the influence of the formidable 7th President Andrew Jackson. Wheras Jackson, the hero of New Orleans and Democratic president for two terms was called "Old Hickory" Polk became known as "Little Hickory." He was a strong advocate of Jackson serving in the wild and wooly politics of frontier America.
Polk emerged as the first dark horse to emerge from a Democratic Convention with their nomination for President of the United States. Polk defeated Henry Clay the Whig standarbearer in the 1844 election. He was supported by his wonderful wife Sarah Childress Polk whom he had married following the advice of Andrew Jackson. Sarah was vivacious and social whereas Polk was self-righteous, stern and a workaholic. The couple were childless.
Polk told reporters that he would only serve one term as chief executive and kept that promise. He had four major goals as president all of which were achieved. Those goals were:
1. To lower the tariffs
2. To institute an independent and working banking system
3. To obtain California.
4. To win the Oregon Territory for the United States which was in dispute with Great Britain when Polk obtained office.
Polk was a wartime president. The war dragged on from 1846-48 and was very unpopular with the Whigs and Americans who viewed it as a blatant power play to win lands from Mexico. Two Whig Generals Winfield Scott and the 12th US President Zachary Taylor won victory over Santa Anna. Mexico City was conquered. Over 13,000 American soldiers were killed in the fierce fighting.
During Polk's administration the United States added overe 500,000 miles to its territory as the nation for the first time spread from Maine to California. The vast Oregon land was won and New Mexico, Arizona become undisputed US territory. The Manifest Destiny of the nation was a success. Ralph Waldo Emerson was the man who said the United States was a "country of vast designs". Polk made this poetic dream a political reality. He is ranked as high as 11th in many presidential polls.
Polk was never physically strong and died soon after leaving office. His adversary Whig Zachary Taylor became president with Millard Fillmore serving as Vice-President.
Polk wanted the major problem of slavery to go away but it refused to do so. During his term the Wilmont Proviso which would have prohibited slavery in the newly acquired lands was hotly debated in Congress. Senate giants such as Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun debated the issue in great senatorial speeches. Polk, meanwhile, was having trouble dealing with the difficult Secretary of State and future president James Buchanan and keeping the money flowing in necessary to fight the Mexican War.
Robert Merry has crafted an excellent book on the Polk administration. The pages are filled with detailed accounts of congressional debates over such hot button issues as slavery, the Mexican War, tariff and money issues. Some readers will find this boring but many will also find it fascinating. Many of the issues ring a familiar bell for today: a first term president, an unpopular war and economic woes.
This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in the Manifest Destiny era. Ecellent and recommended!

Must read for history nerds.

Extremely well written, moves like a novel and hard to put down.

Outlines the key premises of Jacksonian democracy and the impact they had on our country. Explains the events and execution of the Mexican-American war, the annexation of Texas and Oregon and the expansionism that led to the California and New Mexico territories.

Presents the key philosophical differences on trade (free vs. protectionist), banking, expansionism, America's role in the world and the sectional tensions surrounding slavery that would lead to the civil war.

Fascinating also to see how partisan the politics of this period were. If anything, more cutthroat and divisive than today, with bickering, posturing and positioning for personal advantage in both congress and the cabinet.

Demonstrates the incredible impact one person in the position of American president can have on the world.