James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849)
On May 13, 1846, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly votes in
favor of President James K. Polk’s request to declare war on
Mexico in a dispute over Texas.
Under the threat of war, the United States had refrained from
annexing Texas after the latter won independence from Mexico
in 1836.
But in 1844, President John Tyler restarted negotiations with
the Republic of Texas, culminating with a Treaty of Annexation.
The treaty was defeated by a wide margin in the Senate because
it would upset the slave state/free state balance between North
and South and risked war with Mexico, which had broken off
relations with the United States.
But shortly before leaving office and with the support of President
-elect Polk, Tyler managed to get the joint resolution passed on
March 1, 1845. Texas was admitted to the Union on December 29.
llustration: General Zachary Taylor rides his white horse at
the Battle of Palo Alto near present-day Brownsville, Texas,
8 May 1846.
