James K. Polk Papers 1775-1891 (bulk 1830-1849)

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James K. Polk Papers 1775-1891 (bulk 1830-1849)

United States president, Speaker of the House and representative from Tennessee, and governor of Tennessee. General correspondence, presidental letterbooks, diaries, account and memorandum books, drafts and copies of speeches and messages, family papers, financial and legal papers, and printed matter relating primarily to Polk's political career in Tennessee and on the national level.

20,500 items; 183 containers; 39 linear feet; 67 microfilm reels

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Related Entities

There are 44 Entities related to this resource.

Polk family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6997m9v (family)

Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6f29rp1 (person)

Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States. Born on March 15, 1767 in the Waxhaw Settlement in South Carolina; though just a boy, participated in the battle of Hanging Rock during the Revolution, captured by the British and imprisoned. He worked for a time in a saddler's shop and afterward taught school before studying law in Salisbury, N.C. In 1788 he was appointed solicitor of the western district of North Carolina, comprising what is now the State of Tennessee. Upon the admission of T...

Bancroft, George, 1800-1891

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68b1x43 (person)

George Bancroft was an American historian and statesman, and an active promoter of secondary education both in his home state and at the national level. As U. S. Secretary of the Navy under James K. Polk, Bancroft established the Naval Academy at Annapolis and later served as U.S. Minister to Great Britain (1846-1849), Prussia (1867-1871), and the German Empire (1871-1874). He is best remembered however for his 10-volume History of the United States, a work which fellow historian Leop...

Polk, Sarah Childress, 1803-1891

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zd8sc4 (person)

Sarah Childress Polk was married to the 11th President of the United States, James Polk. She served as First Lady from 1845 to 1849. Elder daughter of Captain Joel and Elizabeth Childress, Sarah Childress gained something rarer from her father’s wealth. He sent her and her sister away to school, first to Nashville, then to the Moravians’ “female academy” at Salem, North Carolina, one of the very few institutions of higher learning available to women in the early 19th century. So she acquired ...

Cass, Lewis, 1782-1866

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61p8qjx (person)

Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782 – June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He was also the 1848 Democratic presidential nominee and a leading spokesman for the Doctrine of Popular Sovereignty, which held that the people in each territory should decide whether to permit slavery. Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, he attended Philli...

Dallas, George Mifflin, 1792-1864

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ch0dh3 (person)

George Mifflin Dallas (July 10, 1792 – December 31, 1864) was an American politician and diplomat who served as mayor of Philadelphia from 1828 to 1829 and as the 11th vice president of the United States from 1845 to 1849. The son of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander J. Dallas, George Dallas attended elite preparatory schools before embarking on a legal career. He served as the private secretary to Albert Gallatin and worked for the Treasury Department and the Second Bank of the United Stat...

Nicholson, A. O. P. (Alfred Osborn Pope), 1808-1876

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67m1q6z (person)

Johnson, Cave, 1793-1866

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6nk4gwj (person)

Cave Johnson (1793-1866), born near Springfield, Robertson County, Tennessee, served as a congressman (1829-1837, 1839-1845) and was appointed postmaster general by President James K. Polk. From the description of Cave Johnson papers, 1833-1948. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 173863273 U.S. postmaster general and U.S. representative from Tennessee. From the description of Papers of Cave Johnson, 1845-1865. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79423685 Lawyer, ...

McNeal, Ezekiel Polk, 1804-1886

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62f9902 (person)

Brown, Aaron V. (Aaron Venable), 1795-1859

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t1532n (person)

U.S. postmaster general, U.S. representative and governor of Tennessee. From the description of Aaron V. Brown correspondence, 1841-1849. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79451766 ...

Bank of the United States (1816-1836)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gn209h (corporateBody)

In 1816, the Bank of the United States was rechartered, the first charter having expired in 1811, in an attempt to stabilize the national currency. Within the first three years, the bank was nearly ruined due to mismanagement. Langdon Cheves was elected president of its board of directors in 1819 and restored the bank's credit. In 1822, he resigned the post and was succeeded by Nicholas Biddle. The national charter for the bank expired in 1836, but Biddle kept the bank in operation until 1841, u...

Sutherland, Joel B. (Joel Barlow), 1792-1861

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w634977k (person)

Grundy, Felix, 1777-1840

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6g16051 (person)

Lawyer, judge, U.S. senator, 1829-1833 and 1839-1840, and U.S. attorney general, 1838-1839, from Nashville, Tenn. From the description of Felix Grundy papers, 1807-1889 (bulk 1824-1840) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 24864404 Lawyer, Kentucky jurist, United States congressman and senator from Tennessee, and U.S. attorney general. From the description of Letter, 1826 Nov. 21. (Filson Historical Society, The). WorldCat record id: 49252871 Felix Grudy (1...

Laughlin, Samuel Harvey, 1796-1850.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w657998h (person)

Ritchie, Thomas, 1778-1854

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6g44sb2 (person)

Virginia journalist and politician. Publisher of the Richmond Enquirer. From the description of Letter to Andrew Russell letter [manuscript], 1839 June 18. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647893548 American editor and author. From the description of Autograph letter signed : Richmond, to Thomas Jefferson Randolph, 1840 June 10. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270655229 ...

Armstrong, Robert, 1792-1854

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60h1h7q (person)

American soldier, diplomat, and newspaper owner. From the guide to the Robert Armstrong letter, 1853, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.) ...

Graham, Daniel, 1789-1869

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66x0jgw (person)

Woodbury, Levi, 1789-1851

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65b0b2v (person)

Lawyer, governor of New Hampshire, U.S. senator, U.S. secretary of the Navy, U.S. secretary of the treasury, and U.S. Supreme Court justice. From the description of Letters, 1813-1851. (New Hampshire Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 70963939 U.S. senator from and governor of New Hampshire, U.S. secretary of the navy, U.S. secretary of the treasury, and Supreme Court justice, and lawyer. From the description of Levi Woodbury family papers, 1638-191...

Gillet, Ransom H. (Ransom Hooker), 1800-1876

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6708gb9 (person)

Donelson, Andrew Jackson, 1799-1871

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sf2wfs (person)

Andrew Jackson Donelson was nephew, ward, and personal secretary to President Andrew Jackson throughout his administration. President John Tyler (1841-1845) appointed him chargé d'affaires of the United States to the Republic of Texas and he was U.S. Minister to Prussia from 1846 to 1849. Donelson was nominated as the vice-presidential candidate of former President Millard Fillmore on the American Party ticket in 1856, but they garnered only 8 electoral votes. From the description o...

Buchanan, James, 1791-1868

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rw1bnn (person)

Epithet: US President British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000471.0x000128 James Buchanan, Jr. (1791-1868) was the 15th President of the United States, serving from 1857–1861. Prior to his presidency, Buchanan represented Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives and later the Senate, and served as Secretary of State under President James K. Polk (1845-1849). Source : About the White Hous...

Ramsey, J. G. M. (James Gettys McGready), 1797-1884

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6q530r2 (person)

Historian, railroad director, banker, and physician, of Knoxville, Tenn. From the description of J. G. M. Ramsey papers, 1789-1944 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 24923990 From the description of Address delivered before the East Tennessee Historical and Antiquarian Society, 1834 May 5. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 251411239 James Gettys McGready Ramsey (1797-1884) was a historian, railroad director, banker, and physician, of Knoxville, Tenn. He was the author o...

Fairfield, John, 1797-1847

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pz5xkc (person)

John Fairfield was born in Saco in 1797. His family moved to Biddeford shortly after 1801. He was a representative in Congress from 1835 to 1837, a member of the Senate of the United States from 1843 to 1847, and a governor of Maine in 1839, 1840, 1842 and a part of 1843. He died in Washington, D.C. in 1847. From the description of Notebook containing letters published in the Saco Democrat, 1847. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 55747839 Resident of Saco, Me.; U.S. Senator and...

Kane, John K. (John Kintzing), 1795-1858

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6v69sfd (person)

John Kintzing Kane was a Philadelphia lawyer and Pennsylvania politician. He was appointed Attorney General of Pennsylvania in 1845, a position he resigned in 1846 to serve until his death as a U. S. District Court Judge for eastern Pennsylvania. From the description of Legal papers, 1824-1919. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 122589123 From the description of Papers, 1826-1860. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania). WorldCat recor...

Kendall, Amos, 1789-1869

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6125z7f (person)

Editor of the Extra Globe, Washington, D.C. From the description of Letters, 1840-1844. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 36437687 American politician. From the description of Autograph letter signed : Washington, to John Mills, United States Attorney in Boston, 1840 May 20. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270491445 American politican. From the description of Autograph letter signed : Frankfort, to W. W. Worsley, bookseller in Lex...

Claiborne, J. F. H. (John Francis Hamtramck), 1809-1884

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64f32k4 (person)

Claiborne, the eldest son of Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne, worked as a lawyer and editor in Natchez, Mississippi, before moving to Madison County in 1835. He served that area as a state legislator and U. S. Congressman. He was also an eminent Mississippi historian. From the description of Claiborne, John Francis Hamtramck, papers, 1828-1838. (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 32458159 J. F. H. Claiborne was a lawyer, U.S. Representative, editor, planter, and h...

Harris, Jeremiah George, 1809-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cz403r (person)

Anderson, Alexander, 1794-1869

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n66h6z (person)

Walker, Robert J. (Robert John), 1801-1869

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6057jcr (person)

Secretary of the Treasury. From the description of Robert J. Walker letters, 1846-1848. (Mystic Seaport Museum, G W Blunt White Library). WorldCat record id: 47279343 From the description of Letters, 1846-1848. (Mystic Seaport Museum, G W Blunt White Library). WorldCat record id: 70958262 U.S. Senator, 1836-1845, and secretary of the treasury, 1845-1849. From the description of Papers, 1842-1866. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 39522065 ...

McLane Louis 1786-1857

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63b6g5h (person)

Member of Congress, 1817-1827, and U.S. Senator, 1827-1829, minister to England; secretary of the treasury, 1831; secretary of state, 1833; and president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. From the description of Papers, 1830-1838. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 19902833 Secretary of Treasury and State under President Jackson. From the description of Autograph letter signed : [n.p.], to Hezekiah Niles, [no year] Mar. 12. (Unknown). WorldCat recor...

Catron, John, approximately 1786-1865

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xh3c2z (person)

Catron was the first chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court (1831-1834), and was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1837. Sarah Grier Beck was the daughter of Robert Cooper Grier, a justice of the Supreme Court. From the description of Letters, 1853, 1864. (Harvard Law School Library). WorldCat record id: 234342884 ...

Burke, Edmund, 1809-1882

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6db8b05 (person)

Lawyer, newspaper editor, and U.S. representative. From the description of Edmund Burke papers, 1821-1881. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 81993513 ...

Polk, James K. (James Knox), 1795-1849

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6096vcg (person)

James Knox Polk followed a career path which was blazed by Andrew Jackson. Both men hailed from southwestern North Carolina. Both migrated to Tennessee, where they practiced law and entered politics, and both were elected president of the United States. As similar as their paths were, James Polk was a different personality from his fiery predecessor. His life and career were marked by a relentless pursuit of his goals instead of the dramatic aura that perpetually surrounded Jackson. The effect...

Watterson, Harvey Magee, 1811-1891

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ht39sx (person)

Harvey Magee Watterson (1811-1891), representative from Tennessee, was born at "Beechgrove" in Bedford County, Tennessee. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced law in Shelbyville, Tennessee. He also edited a newspaper there. He was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives and Speaker of the Tennessee Senate. President Zachary Taylor sent Watterson on a diplomatic mission to Buenos Aires in 1847. In 1860, Watterson was a presidential elector. He moved to Washington, D.C...

Marcy, William L. (William Learned), 1786-1857

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mg7rdc (person)

New York attorney and statesman; served as United States Secretary of State under President Pierce. From the description of William Learned Marcy letter, 1857 Mar. 15. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 255631874 Senator, Governor of New York, 1833-39. From the description of Letter 1834 March 19. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122617820 Secretary of War under Polk. Secretary of State under Pierce. From the description of Autog...

Wright, Silas, 1795-1847

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6v98hg6 (person)

Son of Silas and Eleanor Goodale Wright. Silas practiced law in Canton, N.Y.; married Clarissa Moody, 1833; was a politician, holding offices of County Surrogate, state senator, U.S. Congressman and Senator, 1833-1844, and Governor of New York 1844-1846. From the description of Papers, 1800-1983, 1800-1847 (bulk) (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155472289 Statesman, governor of New York State. From the description of Autograph letter signed : Albany, to the publish...

Polk family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6428z1t (family)

Yell, Archibald, 1797 or 1799-1847

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sb587r (person)

Governor of and U.S. representative from Arkansas, public official of Tennessee, jurist, and army officer. From the description of Archibald Yell papers, 1836-1847. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70981226 From the description of Archibald Yell letter, 1839 Feb. 6. (Arkansas History Commission). WorldCat record id: 430350370 Archibald Yell was a soldier and congressman. From the guide to the Archibald Yell correspondence, 1836-1847., 1836-1847, (American ...

Haywood, William H. (William Henry), 1801-1852

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6g44qb7 (person)

Turney, H. L. (Hopkins Lacey), 1797-1857

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ww97x8 (person)

Van Buren, Martin, 1782-1862

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6q34p4z (person)

Martin Van Buren (b. Kinderhook, New York, December 5, 1782-d. July 24, 1862, Kinderhook, New York), studied law, was admitted to bar, New York, 1803; moved to Huson surrogate of Columbia Co.; member of State Senate, 1813-1820; attorney general of New York, 1815-1819; delegate to state constitutional convention, 1821; U.S. Senate Democrat, March 4, 1821-1828; Governor of New York, 1828-1829; U.s. Secretary of State, March 12, 1829 - August 1, 1831; Vice President, 1832; President, 1836-1840....

Mason, John Y. (John Young), 1799-1859

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tf01p4 (person)

John Young Mason, from Greensville County, Va., was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia, 1831-1837; served as secretary of the Navy, 1844-1845 and 1846-1849; was attorney general of the United States, March 1845-September 1846; and served as United States minister plenipotentiary to France, 1854-1859. From the guide to the John Y. Mason Papers, 1843-1898, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection...

Pillow, Gideon Johnson, 1806-1878

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gt5kpb (person)

Gideon Johnson Pillow (1806-1878) was born in Williamson County, Tennessee. He practiced law with James Knox Polk (1795-1849), the 11th presdient of the United States. Pillow was appointed Brigadier General of the U.S. Volunteers in 1846 and later promoted to Major General because of his friendship with President Polk. He served during the Mexican War (1846-1848) and fought during the battles of Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, and Chapultepec. He was appointed Senior Major General of the Prov...

Horn, Henry, 1786-1862

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65d8wp8 (person)

Henry Horn, a Philadelphia lawyer, served as a U. S. Representative (D.), 1831-1833, and customs collector, 1845-1846. From the description of Papers, 1816-1872 (inclusive), 1826-1845 (bulk). (Historical Society of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 122584650 ...