The “dark horse” who improbably won the 1844 presidential race and propelled American expansionism to new levels amid the dream of “manifest destiny” celebrated his 216th birthday today.
James K. Polk, an 1818 graduate of UNC and the 11th U.S. President, was born on this day in 1795.
Polk spent his early years on a farm in Tennessee and therefore had virtually no schooling. At 18 years old he couldn’t even spell or write correctly, according to Charles Grier Sellers’ article “Jim Polk Goes to Chapel Hill.”
But after only two years of academic study, Polk had progressed leaps and bounds. The promising young scholar decided in the fall of 1815 that he was ready to enter college, and he chose UNC, which at the time had only a five-person faculty and 80 students and cost $11 a semester.
Polk passed the UNC college entrance exam in 1816 with flying colors and was admitted as a second-semester sophomore.
Despite his sickly nature, he excelled at UNC, studying a tough curriculum of math, philosophy, and the classics. As a member of the Dialectic Society, Polk participated in weekly debates, a skill that proved useful during his political career.
Polk graduated in 1818 with the “First Honor,” the title given to the top-ranked student of the senior class. He went on to study law, but shortly after he decided to pursue his political aspirations.
In only five years, this rough and ready country boy had been transformed into a knowledgeable scholar who, two and a half decades later, would find himself in the White House.
A bronze statue of Polk, sculpted by Stephen H. Smith and dedicated in 1997, greets visitors of the Morehead Planetarium in the lobby. His confident stance and expression tell of the bold vision he had for American expansion, one that included the annexation of Texas, the acquiring of New Mexico and California, and the settlement of Oregon’s northern border.
Below him the words “he expanded our nation by two-thirds” are inscribed, and below his feet is an outline of the territory he acquired. According to the plaque beside the figure, “this full-length statue of Polk is the first to be commissioned and dedicated in the United States.”
Amid conflicts, disagreements, and even war, the ambitious Polk managed to accomplish all that he promised in his vision after only one term in the White House. He left office in 1849 and died of cholera soon after.
Nearly 200 years ago, Polk started at UNC as a mere college undergraduate. Only a few years later, he was the fearless leader who helped the U.S. become a true continental power. UNC should be proud to call him “Tar Heel born and Tar Heel bred.”
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