Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/75

Rh successively with several of the leading practition- ers of the state. Among the latter may be men- tioned Aaron V. Brown and Gideon J. Pillow. Brought up as a Jeffersoniun. ami early taking an interest in politics, Mr. Polk was frequently heard in public as an exponent of the views of his party. So popular was his style of oratory that his services soon came to be in great demand, and he was not long in earning the title of the " Napoleon of the Stump." He was, however, an argumenta- tive rather than a rhetorical speaker, and convinced his hearers by plainness of statement and aptness of illustration, ignoring the ad-captamdum effects usually resorted to in political harangues. His first public employment was that of chief clerk to the Tennessee house of representatives, and in 1823 he canvassed the district to secure his own election to that body. During his two years in the legisla- ture he was' regarded as one of its most promising members. His ability and shrewdness in debate, his business tact, combined with his firmness and industry, secured for him a high reputation. While & member of the general assembly he obtained the passage of a law to prevent the then common prac- tice of duelling, and, although he resided in a com- munity where that mode of settling disputes was generally approved, he was never concerned in an " affair of honor." either as principal or as second. In August, 1825, he was elected to congress from the Duck river district, in which he resided, by a flattering majority, and re-elected at every succeed- ing election until 1839, when he withdrew from the contest to become a candidate for governor. On taking his seat as a member of the 19th congress, he found himself, with one or two exceptions, the youngest member of that body. The same habits of laborious application that had previously charac- terized him were now displayed on the floor of the house and in the committee-room. He was promi- nently connected with every leading question, and upon all he struck what proved to be the key- note for the action of his party. During the whole period of President Jackson's administration he was one of its leading supporters, and at times, on certain issues of paramount importance, its chief reliance. His maiden speech was made in defence of the proposed amendment to the constitution, giving the choice of president and vice-president directly to the people. It was distinguished by clearness and force, copiousness of research, wealth of illustration, and cogency of argument, and at once placed its author in the front rank of con- gressional debaters. During the same session Mr. Polk attracted attention by his vigorous opposi- tion to the appropriation for the Panama mission. President Adams had appointed commissioners to attend a congress proposed to be held at Panama by delegates appointed by different Spanish-Ameri- can states, which, although they had virtually achieved their independence, were still at war with the mother-country. Mr. Polk, and those who thought with him, contended that such action on the part of this government would tend to involve us in a war with Spain, and establish an unfor- tunate precedent for the future. In December, 1827, he was placed on the committee on foreign affairs, and some time afterward was also ap- pointed chairman of the select committee to which was referred that portion of the message of Presi- dent Adams calling the attention of congress to the probable accumulation of a surplus in the treasury after the anticipated extinguishment of the national debt. As the head of the latter com- mittee, he made a report denying the constitu- tional power of congress to collect from the people for distribution a surplus beyond the wants of the government, and maintaining that the revenue should be reduced to the requirements of the pub- lic service. Early in 1833, as a member of the ways and means committee, he made a minority re- port unfavorable to the Bank of the United States, which aroused a storm of opposition, a meeting of the friends of the bank being held at Nashville. I >uring the entire contest between the bank and President Jackson, caused by the removal of the deposits in October, 1833, Mr. Polk, now chairman of the committee, supported the executive. His speech in opening the debate summarized the material facts and arguments on the Democratic side of the question. George McDuffie, leader of the opposition, bore testimony in his concluding remarks to the boldness and manliness with which Mr. Polk had assumed the only position that could be judiciously taken. Mr. Polk was elected speaker of the house of representatives in December, 1835, and held that office till 1839. He gave to the ad- ministration of Martin Van Buren the same un- hesitating support he had accorded to that of President Jackson, and, though taking no part in the discussions, he approved of the leading meas- ures recommended by the former, including the cession of the public lands to the states, the pre- emption law, and the proposal to establish an in- dependent treasury, and exerted his influence to secure their adoption. He was the speaker during five sessions, and it was his fortune to preside over the house at a period when party feelings were excited to an unusual degree. Notwithstanding the fact that during the first session more appeals were taken from his decisions than were ever known before, he was uniformly sustained by the house, and frequently by leading members of the Whig party. Although he was opposed to the doctrines of the anti-slavery reformers, we have the testimony of their leader in the house, John Quincy Adams, to the effect that Speaker Polk uniformly extended to him " every kindness and courtesy imaginable." On leaving congress Mr. Polk became the candidate of the Democrats of Tennessee for governor. They had become disheartened by a series of disasters and defeats caused primarily by the defection of John Bell and Judge Hugh L. White. Under these circumstances it was evident that no one but the strongest man in the party could enter the canvass with the slightest prospect of success, and it was doubtful whether even he could carry off the prize. On being asked, Mr. Polk at once cheer- fully consented to allow his name to be used. He was nominated in the autumn of 1838, but, owing to his congressional duties, was unable fairly to enter upon the canvass until the spring of i839. His opponent was Newton Cannon, also a Demo- crat, who then held the office. The contest was spirited, and Mr. Polk was elected by over 2.500 majority. On 14 Oct. he took the oath of office. In his inaugural address he touched upon the rela- tions of the state and Federal governments, de- clared that the latter had no constitutional power to incorporate a national bank, took strong ground against the creation of a surplus Federal revenue by taxation, asserted that "the agitation of the Abolitionists can by no possibility produce good to any portion of the Union, but must, if persisted in, lead to incalculable mischief," and discussed at length other topics, especially bearing upon the internal policy of Tennessee. In 1841 Mr. Polk was again a candidate for the governorship, al- though his defeat was a foregone conclusion in view of the political whirlwind that had swept over the country in 1840 and resulted in the election of