Hands down the best US President.
Regardless of your views on the morality of the Mexican American War, it was undeniably what the people of the country wanted, and the country was also undeniably better off because of it.
He fulfilled his role as president perfectly, to a degree no other president has matched.
>>331139
>Entire campaign was to annex Texas
>After elected President, the lame duck annexes Texas months before Polk is in office
Kek
To this day I have no idea why Mexico is allowed to exist. I just don't.
>>331151
Well technically, Mexico didn't recognize the annexation of Texas at that point. That's how Polk started the war in the first place.
>>331157
AFAIK it was a question of voting franchise: you annex all Mexico you completely destabilize the balance of power in the union. The slaver/free balance was particularly threatened.
>>331337
This is a good point, and an interesting insight about Polk.
Like you said, Mexico could have been annexed in it's entirety, but that would have made the south too powerful, which Polk very actively fought against, maintaining the balance of power between north and south despite himself being a southerner.
How can one president be so based.
>>331139
>Hands down the best US President.
He had goals and achieved them all. Didn't really contribute anything to the US though other than giving us prettier borders.
>it was undeniably what the people of the country wanted
It was pretty popular in the initial stages, but nobody asked for it and everyone was pretty sick of it by the end.
>He fulfilled his role as president perfectly, to a degree no other president has matched.
He was alright I guess. In terms of developing the country Teddy, Lincoln, and FDR did way better.
Polk is bae.
>>332108
>It was pretty popular in the initial stages, but nobody asked for it and everyone was pretty sick of it by the end.
>iraq
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSdgjP8os7U
>promised to do a bunch of things
>did them
>did not run for a second term
>expanded the country by 50% in terms of landmass
>gave us access to the Pacific Ocean
Based.
>>332216
He's the best. I wish we could have a president more like him these days.
>>332090
"Fifty-four Forty or Fight!"
We could have pushed the borders higher than we did with Canada. And the Mexicans would have been a decent fifth column against the Texans during the Civil War.
>>332090
>which Polk very actively fought against
That's completely wrong.
Polk wanted to grab more land from Mexico as indemnity for the Mexican government not capitulating. It was only because Nicolas Trist, the man negotiating the treaty, disobeyed his direct orders from Polk to break off negotiations that the war ended with the Treaty of Guadelupe-Hildago. If Polk had had his way, more of Mexico would have been annexed.Or more likely, the war would have devolved into a quagmire as the reactionaries in Mexico took over power from the federalistas and refused any settlement that involved slicing up the country.
Polk's wanton acquisition of land was one of the biggest destabilizing factors that lead up to the Civil War, it almost broke the union apart 10 years before the civil war.
>>332126
>Grant was a good president.
