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A country of vast designs : James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the conquest of the American continent
Author
Title
A country of vast designs : James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the conquest of the American continent / Robert W. Merry.
ISBN
9780743297431
0743297431
Edition
First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Published
New York : Simon & Schuster, c2009.
Physical Description
x, 576 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map, portraits ; 25 cm.
Summary
Merry examines how, in a one-term presidency, James K. Polk completed the story of America's Manifest Destiny by expanding its territory across the continent. b&w photographs.
Variant and related titles
James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the conquest of the American continent.
Format
Books
Language
English
Added to Catalog
March 18, 2010
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 479-550) and index.
Contents
Introduction: Ritual of democracy: the emergence of an expansionist president
Young Hickory: the making of a Jackson protégé
Tennessee and Washington: the rise and fall of a presidential loyalist
The 1844 election: searching for a means of political recovery
Texas: dawn of a new era
Polk vs. Clay: answering the question, "Who is James K. Polk?"
The victor: preparing for the mantle of leadership
Taking charge: America's zest for grand ambitions
Annexation complete: diplomacy, intrigue, and the force of politics
The United States and Oregon: "The people here are worn out by delay"
The United States and Mexico: divergent new world cultures on a path to war
Britain and Mexico: playing with prospects of a dual war
The Twenty-ninth Congress: Polk takes command of the national agenda
End of a treaty: diplomacy and politics at war with each other
War: "Every consideration of duty and patriotism"
Vagaries of war: "And may there be no recreant soul to fail or falter now"
Presidential temperament: "I prefer to supervise the whole operations of the government"
Wilmot's proviso: transformation of the war debate
The war in the West: patriotism, duty, adventure, and glory
The new face of war: "We are yet to have a long and wearisome struggle"
The politics of rancor: constitutional usurpation vs. moral treason
Dilatory Congress: the challenge of presidential leadership
Veracruz and beyond: grappling with Mexico's military defiance
Scott and Trist: a clash of policy and temperament
Mexico City: the pivot of personality
The specter of conquest: "Have we conquered peace? Have we obtained a treaty?"
Treaty: from Trist to Polk to the Senate
Peace: California, New Mexico, and the Union
Final months: "Solemnly impressed with the... emptiness of worldly honors"
Epilogue: Legacy: the price of presidential accomplishment.
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