Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/700

 680 POLK of woollens, 1 pork-packing establishment, 2 bookbinderies, and 6 Hour mills. Capital, Des Moines, which is also the capital of the state. X. A S. W. county of Missouri, watered by affluents of the Osage river; area, 750 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 12,445, of whom 259 were col- ored. The surface is undulating or level, and the soil fertile. The chief productions in 1870 were 117,999 bushels of wheat, 552,612 of Indian corn, 155,661 of oats, 26,925 of po- tatoes, 3,406 tons of hay, 11,610 Ibs. of to- bacco, 32,957 of wool, 150,221 of butter, and 21,631 gallons of sorghum molasses. There were 5,433 horses, 1,092 mules and asses, 4,055 milch cows, 875 working oxen, 6,170 other cattle, 16,681 sheep, and 22,411 swine. Capi- tal, Bolivar. XI. An E. central county of Ne- braska, bounded N. W. by the Platte river, and intersected by the N. fork of the Big Blue ; area, about 400 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 136. The surface consists mostly of rolling and productive prairies. The chief produc- tions in 1870 were 1,509 bushels of wheat, 1,540 of Indian corn, 450 of oats, 530 of po- tatoes, and 75 tons of hay ; value of live stock, $11,315. Capital, Osceola. XII. A W. coun- ty of Oregon, bounded E. by the Willamette river and W. by the Coast mountains, and watered by La Creole and other rivers ; area, 900 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 4,701. The surface is diversified and the soil generally fertile. The chief productions in 1870 were 303,338 bushels of wheat, 199,405 of oats, 22,953 of potatoes, 55,203 Ibs. of wool, 142,778 of but- ter, and 6,128 tons of hay. There were 3,863 horses, 3,092 milch cows, 4,411 other cattle, 16,046 sheep, and 12,380 swine; 5 manufac- tories of saddlery and harness, 1 of woollens, 1 flour mill, and 4 saw mills. Capital, Dallas. POLK, James Kuox, the eleventh president of the United States, born in Mecklenburg co., N. 0., Nov. 2, 1795, died in Nashville, Tenn., June 15, 1849. His ancestors, whose name was originally Pollock, emigrated from Ireland early in the 18th century. His father was a farmer, who in 1806 removed to the valley of Duck river in Tennessee. The son received at first a scanty education, but finally entered the university of North Carolina, graduated in 1818, and was admitted to the bar in 1820. In 1823 he was chosen to the state legisla- ture. In 1825 he was elected to congress, and soon became a conspicuous opponent of the ad- ministration of John Quincy Adams, and was afterward one of the most efficient supporters of Jackson. He was nominated for speaker by the democratic party near the close of the session of 1834, but was defeated by a coali- tion between the whigs and a portion of the democrats in favor of John Bell. In 1835 Mr. Polk was elected speaker, and he was reflected in 1837. In 1839, having served for 14 years in congress, he declined a reelection, and was chosen governor of Tennessee. In 1840 he received the nomination of the legislature of Tennessee and several other states for vice president with Mr. Van Buren, but at the elec- tion received only one electoral vote, Eichard M. Johnson of Kentucky being the regular democratic candidate. In 1841, being renomi- nated for governor, he was defeated by a ma- jority of 3,224 votes. The democratic national convention which met at Baltimore May 27, 1844, nominated him for president on the ninth ballot, George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania being nominated for vice president. Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuysen were the candidates of the whig party. Mr. Polk w-as elected by a popular vote of 1,337,243 to 1,299,062 for Clay and 62,300 for James G. Birney, the anti- slavery candidate. The annexation of Texas, the most exciting question in the canvass, was effected before Mr. Folk's inauguration. His cabinet consisted of James Buchanan of Penn- sylvania, secretary of state ; Eobert J. Walker of Mississippi, secretary of the treasury ; Wil- liam L. Marcy of New York, secretary of war ; George Bancroft of Massachusetts, secretary of the navy till Sept. 9, 1846, afterward John Y. Mason of Virginia ; Cave Johnson of Ten- nessee, postmaster general; John Y. Mason, Nathan Clifford of Maine, and Isaac Toucey of Connecticut, successively attorneys general. At the beginning of his administration the president sent Gen. Taylor with a small force to occupy the country between the Nueces and the Rio Grande, the United States claiming the latter river as their boundary, while the Mexicans maintained that Texas had never extended beyond the Nueces. The question of the boundary of Oregon also engaged the attention of the president. Mr. Polk in his inaugural address had declared that " our title to the country of the Oregon was clear and unquestionable." After negotiation, however, the president directed the secretary of state to offer as the boundary the parallel of 49, in- stead of 54 40', which had previously been insisted upon; this was accepted by Great Britain, the proposition being so far modified as to give to that power the whole of Van- couver island. In April, 1846, hostilities broke out on the Rio Grande between Gen. Taylor's army and that of the Mexican commander, Gen. Arista. The president sent a message to congress declaring that " war existed by the act of Mexico," and asking for men and money to carry it on. Congress responded, May 11, by an appropriation of $10,000,000 and giving authority to call out 50,000 vol- unteers. The war was prosecuted with ener- gy, and resulted in the conquest of Mexico, the city of Mexico itself being occupied by the American forces on Sept. 14, 1847. Mexico ceded to the United States New Mexico and Upper California, and accepted the Rio Grande from its mouth to El Paso as the southern boundary of Texas. In the election of 1848 Mr. Polk was not a candidate, having in 1844 pledged himself not to seek a renomination, and his administration terminated March 4, 1849. The chief measures which distinguished