Episode Details

James K. Polk entered the White House with four goals — acquire California, settle the Oregon boundary, reduce the tariff, and establish an independent treasury — and accomplished all four in a single term. He then kept his promise not to seek re-election and died of exhaustion three months after leaving office. No president has ever set such specific objectives, achieved them so completely, and paid such a steep personal price for the effort.

This episode traces Polk from his Tennessee political career through the dark horse nomination, the Mexican-American War that added a third of the continent, and the relentless work ethic that killed him at fifty-three.

• Polk's emergence as the first dark horse presidential candidate in American history
• The four campaign promises and the systematic execution of each one in a single term
• The Mexican-American War and the territorial expansion that made America a continental power
• The decision not to seek re-election and the death from exhaustion three months after leaving office