Source: Robert W. Merry. A Country of Vast Designs - James K. Polk,
the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent (2009)
the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent (2009)
Nicholas Trist worked hard to forge a treaty that was loyal and consistent to Polk’s outline from April 1847. Trist was firm on getting Upper California with San Diego; with Scott’s assistance, he was able to use the US Army Corps of Engineers (commanded by Robert E. Lee) to prove that San Diego was indeed in Upper CA. By January 1848, Trist had a treaty that was ready for consideration by the Mexican government. Trist increased the pressure on Mexico by telling them that they needed to act quickly before President Polk replaced General Scott. Trist also reminded the Mexican government that he could be forced to leave Mexico at any moment.
Mexico agreed to all of the terms in the draft treaty, including $15m from the US for CA and NM. The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was signed on 2 February 1848 by Trist and the relevant parties in the Mexican government. Trist wanted immediate approval from DC to not only end the whole process, but to also limit the level of humiliation for Mexico. When Polk received the treaty, he didn’t react with outrage towards Trist, but rather in a realistic fashion. Polk spent time with the treaty, making sure he was totally familiar with it and that it was acceptable, and then the President sent the treaty to the Senate for ratification.
Mexico agreed to all of the terms in the draft treaty, including $15m from the US for CA and NM. The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was signed on 2 February 1848 by Trist and the relevant parties in the Mexican government. Trist wanted immediate approval from DC to not only end the whole process, but to also limit the level of humiliation for Mexico. When Polk received the treaty, he didn’t react with outrage towards Trist, but rather in a realistic fashion. Polk spent time with the treaty, making sure he was totally familiar with it and that it was acceptable, and then the President sent the treaty to the Senate for ratification.
Polk would have loved to take more territory since the war lasted much longer than he envisioned. Polk wanted Mexico to pay a price for it intransigence, but realism again took hold of the President. Polk knew that if he rejected the terms of the treaty and continued to prosecute the war, the opposition to the war would drastically worsen. Basically, Polk decided he couldn’t reject the terms he outlined in April 1847 to Nicholas Trist. Most Americans believed that the treaty needed to be ratified to, if nothing else, avoid a greater national evil.
The Senate needed to ratify the treaty by a 2/3’s majority, which meant that twenty Senators could kill the treaty (39 - 19 would ratify). Polk was stunned to find out from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that it wanted to renegotiate with Mexico along the same terms, but with someone other than Trist as the US diplomat. Polk was also beyond-stunned to discover that his own Secretary of State, James Buchanan, had been actively working in opposition to not only the treaty, but also in whispering campaigns against Polk in newspapers (Buchanan was trying to position himself for a run for the Presidency in 1848).
The pressure on Polk was immense, and he knew that his historical legacy was on the line. On 10 March 1848, Polk was informed that the treaty had been ratified in the Senate by a vote of 38 -14, with six Senators abstaining. Polk rushed the document to Mexico with a promise to send a new US envoy that would, unlike Trist, have full plenipotentiary powers.
The Senate needed to ratify the treaty by a 2/3’s majority, which meant that twenty Senators could kill the treaty (39 - 19 would ratify). Polk was stunned to find out from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that it wanted to renegotiate with Mexico along the same terms, but with someone other than Trist as the US diplomat. Polk was also beyond-stunned to discover that his own Secretary of State, James Buchanan, had been actively working in opposition to not only the treaty, but also in whispering campaigns against Polk in newspapers (Buchanan was trying to position himself for a run for the Presidency in 1848).
The pressure on Polk was immense, and he knew that his historical legacy was on the line. On 10 March 1848, Polk was informed that the treaty had been ratified in the Senate by a vote of 38 -14, with six Senators abstaining. Polk rushed the document to Mexico with a promise to send a new US envoy that would, unlike Trist, have full plenipotentiary powers.
On 4 May 1848, a bedraggled and nearly forgotten (in the public eye) Nicholas Trist reached New Orleans. Polk refused to pay Trist from the day he had been ordered to leave Mexico; interestingly, in Mexico Trist was seen as a man of high esteem and good character. On 1 May 1848, Genera Scott left Veracruz and reached his home in New Jersey on 20 May 1848. Scott was actually facing a Court of Inquiry which would resume on 5 June 1848 in Maryland (much of the scurrilous hoo-haw was due to Major General Pillow).
Taylor let it be known that if he wasn’t the Whig nominee, we would run for President as an independent candidate in order to force the Presidential election in the Electoral College to the House of Representatives. On his end, Polk made it very clear to Democrats that were planning the 1848 convention that he was out of the running for the nomination. On 22 May 1848, the Democratic National Convention started in Baltimore. A super-majority of 2/3’s of the delegates was voted on in order to nominate the party’s candidate, this time without any rancor or controversy as had occurred in previous conventions. Rival Democrats from New York, the “Hunkers” vs. the “Barnburners”, made the expansion of slavery a big issue in the convention. Three serious candidates emerged: Lewis Cass, James Buchanan, and Levi Woodbury (an associate Supreme Court justice). The results of the 1st ballot were Cass 125, Buchanan 55, and Woodbury 53; Cass would win the nomination on the 4th ballot.
Taylor let it be known that if he wasn’t the Whig nominee, we would run for President as an independent candidate in order to force the Presidential election in the Electoral College to the House of Representatives. On his end, Polk made it very clear to Democrats that were planning the 1848 convention that he was out of the running for the nomination. On 22 May 1848, the Democratic National Convention started in Baltimore. A super-majority of 2/3’s of the delegates was voted on in order to nominate the party’s candidate, this time without any rancor or controversy as had occurred in previous conventions. Rival Democrats from New York, the “Hunkers” vs. the “Barnburners”, made the expansion of slavery a big issue in the convention. Three serious candidates emerged: Lewis Cass, James Buchanan, and Levi Woodbury (an associate Supreme Court justice). The results of the 1st ballot were Cass 125, Buchanan 55, and Woodbury 53; Cass would win the nomination on the 4th ballot.
To the Southern Democrats, Cass (from Michigan) was not supportive enough of the expansion of slavery, and to the growing number of Abolitionists, Cass wasn’t aggressive enough in his opposition to the expansion of slavery. During the convention, Cass pondered if Popular Sovereignty (white citizens in the actual territory decide whether or not to have slavery) just might be the cure for the debate concerning the expansion of slavery
On 7 June 1848, the Whig National Convention started in Philadelphia. Conventional wisdom had the 71 year old Henry Clay getting the nomination over Zachary Taylor. The result of the 1st ballot was Taylor 114, Clay 97, and like Cass for the Democrats, Taylor captured the Whig nomination on the 4th ballot. Taylor’s nomination blurred the line between Whig and Democrat, which basically helped his overall electability as far as the Whigs were concerned.
The Senate ratified the treaty that was delivered from the Mexican government on 10 June 1848. By that point, Polk’s health had seriously declined due to the physical and psychological toll of US losses in the war. Polk was a politically diminished President, and there was nothing pressing for him to accomplish during his last eight months in office, other than finishing what he considered necessary concerning the war. Polk had no sense of proportion by that time, and little irritations vexed him greatly, which diminished his standing even further.
On 7 June 1848, the Whig National Convention started in Philadelphia. Conventional wisdom had the 71 year old Henry Clay getting the nomination over Zachary Taylor. The result of the 1st ballot was Taylor 114, Clay 97, and like Cass for the Democrats, Taylor captured the Whig nomination on the 4th ballot. Taylor’s nomination blurred the line between Whig and Democrat, which basically helped his overall electability as far as the Whigs were concerned.
The Senate ratified the treaty that was delivered from the Mexican government on 10 June 1848. By that point, Polk’s health had seriously declined due to the physical and psychological toll of US losses in the war. Polk was a politically diminished President, and there was nothing pressing for him to accomplish during his last eight months in office, other than finishing what he considered necessary concerning the war. Polk had no sense of proportion by that time, and little irritations vexed him greatly, which diminished his standing even further.
On 4 July 1848, Polk presided over the cornerstone being laid for the Washington Monument. A helpless Polk watched Congress move at a snail’s pace to approve territorial governments in the Mexican Cession due to the slavery debate. The Barnburners, headed by former President Martin Van Buren, created the Free Soil Party as a political home for anti-slavery Democrats and Whigs. MVB had to do some serious “spinning” in order to justify his current Abolitionist views compared to his views on slavery when he served in Jackson’s administration. MVB and the Free Soil Party simply wanted to destroy the existing political order using their moral opposition/outrage against slavery.
During August 1848, Polk signed a territory bill for Oregon that did not feature slavery, using the 36/30 line from the Missouri Compromise as justification. A few months later, Polk was very upset that Taylor won the Election of 1848 over Lewis Cass, which meant to the outgoing President that the Polk Era would be reversed. Due to the calendar, 4 March 1849 was Polk’s last full day in office, and he had hoped that he would be presented the territorial bills to sign for California and New Mexico. However, the debate in the Senate over the territorial bills went into the wee hours of 5 March 1849, and Polk was very frustrated that he was not allowed the honor of sealing the deal on the Mexican War.
Zachary Taylor was inaugurated as the 12th President on 5 March 1849, and the Kentuckian didn’t say anything about the slavery debate in his Inaugural Address. The Polks left DC on 6 March 1849 for New Orleans, and then went up the Mississippi River to Tennessee, and then east to Nashville. Polk’s health deteriorated on the trip home with among other ailments diarrhea and severe fatigue. Polk, with fatalist stoicism, accepted his looming death and was baptized and embraced Christianity for the first time. On 5 June 1849, James Knox Polk died in his sleep at the age of 53.
During August 1848, Polk signed a territory bill for Oregon that did not feature slavery, using the 36/30 line from the Missouri Compromise as justification. A few months later, Polk was very upset that Taylor won the Election of 1848 over Lewis Cass, which meant to the outgoing President that the Polk Era would be reversed. Due to the calendar, 4 March 1849 was Polk’s last full day in office, and he had hoped that he would be presented the territorial bills to sign for California and New Mexico. However, the debate in the Senate over the territorial bills went into the wee hours of 5 March 1849, and Polk was very frustrated that he was not allowed the honor of sealing the deal on the Mexican War.
Zachary Taylor was inaugurated as the 12th President on 5 March 1849, and the Kentuckian didn’t say anything about the slavery debate in his Inaugural Address. The Polks left DC on 6 March 1849 for New Orleans, and then went up the Mississippi River to Tennessee, and then east to Nashville. Polk’s health deteriorated on the trip home with among other ailments diarrhea and severe fatigue. Polk, with fatalist stoicism, accepted his looming death and was baptized and embraced Christianity for the first time. On 5 June 1849, James Knox Polk died in his sleep at the age of 53.
No President in US History had a wider chasm between accomplishments and popular recognition (with the possible exception of Jimmy Carter); the main reason was the heated debate on the expansion of slavery. Critics of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Roosevelt have had almost no effect on their historical legacies as President, but those critics still negatively affect Polk’s legacy. There were three charges from that era that are especially remembered; first was the assertion of the Whigs that Polk usurped authority to wage an unnecessary war. Second was the statement made famous years later from Ulysses S. Grant (who served as a 2nd Lt. in the Mexican War) that the Mexican War was an unjust war. Third were the attacks from a freshman representative from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, against Polk and the war.
To today’s sensibilities, the Mexican War was not a war defending human rights, but a nationalist war, and Polk is the main villain. However, ignored in all the anti-Polk focus was that the government and military of Mexico royally screwed up in virtually every phase of the war, from beginning-to-end, due to excessive pride/honor. Mexico’s actions with Texas after 1836, especially concerning annexation, were simply and purely tempting fate. Mexico fired the first shots and inflicted the first casualties of the Mexican War, which brought about Polk’s wrath. Added to the mix were voluminous reports beforehand of abuses towards US citizens in Mexico, leading to demands of indemnity, which leads to the question of how much was the US to take from Mexico in that regard. Also conveniently ignored is that Polk (the Chessmaster) was probably the only politician at that time that as President was able to bring the US vision/goal of westward expansion to reality; no other President before Polk had accomplished so much in a single term
To today’s sensibilities, the Mexican War was not a war defending human rights, but a nationalist war, and Polk is the main villain. However, ignored in all the anti-Polk focus was that the government and military of Mexico royally screwed up in virtually every phase of the war, from beginning-to-end, due to excessive pride/honor. Mexico’s actions with Texas after 1836, especially concerning annexation, were simply and purely tempting fate. Mexico fired the first shots and inflicted the first casualties of the Mexican War, which brought about Polk’s wrath. Added to the mix were voluminous reports beforehand of abuses towards US citizens in Mexico, leading to demands of indemnity, which leads to the question of how much was the US to take from Mexico in that regard. Also conveniently ignored is that Polk (the Chessmaster) was probably the only politician at that time that as President was able to bring the US vision/goal of westward expansion to reality; no other President before Polk had accomplished so much in a single term