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BIRTH
James K Polk was born on November 2nd, 1795 in Nashville, Tennessee. -
Moved
Him and his family moved to Tennessee. -
Surgery
Dr. Ephraim McDowell performed surgery on Polk to remove urinary stones. -
Graduated College
Graduated for University of North Carolina. He studied law, mathematics, and classics. -
Job after College
He was a Tennessee lawyer after college. -
Senate
He became the State Senate of Tennessee. -
Join Militia
He joined his local Militia. -
Elected
He was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives. -
Getting Married
He got married to Sarah Childress. Which was his only wife. They had no kids too. -
Appointed
He was appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee. -
Speaker
He became the speaker of the United States House of Representatives -
Governor
He became the Governor of Tennessee from 1839-1841. -
Became a candidate
Announced his support of the annexation of Texas by the United States. Nominated on May 29 as the Democratic Party’s candidate for president. -
President
He became the 11th president on March 4. Given nickname “Young Hickory”. He also pledged to serve only one term. -
Senate
Polk sends to Senate an extradition treaty with Prussia signed. -
Texas
Texas became a State. -
WAR
Submitted war message to Congress. -
Oregon Treaty
Oregon Treaty Signed between United States and Britain. Established 49th parallel. -
Iowa
Iowa admitted as 29th state. -
Captured
Mexico City captured. -
Women
Declaration of the Rights of Women at Seneca Falls, NY. -
Gold Rush
Fourth State of the Union Message to Congress and confirmed discovery of gold in California that triggers Gold Rush. -
Signed
Signed bill creating the Department of the Interior -
Traveling after presidency
His trip took him from the Atlantic seaboard, west along the Gulf states, and up the Mississippi River to Tennessee. -
Polk Place
At the end of the trip, he moved into his recently purchased house in Nashville and he called it the Polk Place. He spent his final weeks there remodeling the house and sorting through his presidential papers. -
Cholera
Seriously ill during the last days of his trip possibly from cholera that had broken out in New Orleans while he was there so he cut his trip short because of cholera. -
Death
Died in Nashville, Tennessee after the shortest presidential retirement in American history. -
What was left
Polk left most of his house to his wife with the request that she free their slaves upon her death. -
Transferred
He was transferred to tomb at Polk Place -
Transferred again
James K. Polk and Sarah C. Polk transferred to the grounds of the Tennessee state capitol in Nashville and are now resting peacefully.