James Knox Polk, Essay Example

Slavery, which many used to advance their personal or country gains had its repercussions to those who were forced to it where as on the other side, the perpetrators are believed to have various ways through which they benefitted from it. Though not all countries were affected, mostly the undeveloped ones suffered most where they were subjected to inhumane conditions and they were viewed to be lesser equal than their bosses. Due to their increased number in the countries of destiny, the (slaves) managed to form movements that were aimed at deliberating them from the unjustified oppression by their masters and a series of fracas were witnessed during this period which left a good number dead and majority injured. It was a big issue which required self sacrifice with support of some whites who believed slaves were too human being and required to enjoy the human rights just like any other person. This war was not easy to win and it took a number of decades before they could be granted what they were fighting for. This paper seeks to scrutinize the motive and the driving force behind Polk James being in the fore front in advocating for this inhumane act of slavery and how he might have benefited from his advocacy.

Polk James was the 11^th president of United States. Before ascending to the presidential position, he served as a speaker in the House of Representatives between 1835 to 1839 and also as a governor of Tennessee in the year 1839 to 1841 before finally becoming the president. He was brave and he is up to today remembered for managing to come victorious in the war with Mexico and also his relentless efforts in expanding the territories of the United States. He happened to ail form a family that made use of slaves in conducting a number of duties. His father managed to give him some of the slaves he had and most people believe this could have contributed a lot in his reluctant behavior of  abolishing slave trade and also the harsh conditions they were subjected to. Most people in the United States were involved in the business of slavery since it as the only option at that time to get cheap labor. There was a tremendous growth in this field and it became lucrative thus increasing the demand, which could later along lead to internal conflicts between the natives. The opponents of slavery made it hard for President Polk and to an extent made his presidency unpopular among the opponents and proponents of slavery. It is during his term in power that many people who supported abolition of slavery openly challenged him and held the view that he was actually instrumental in enhancing the vice of slavery (American, 2009).

One thing that was very evident is the rifts that existed between the south and the north which could be manifested in the debates on slavery. On 8th august 1814, David Wilmot who was a democrat congressman introduced a bill on the amendment of army spending that brought about the slavery issue. He asserted that no any slavery or involuntary servitude was to exist in any region from the territory that was acquired from the Mexico. Initially, before the bill was debated, there was a debate whether Mexico to remain a slavery state or not. Wilmot’s amendment managed to pass in the house but unfortunately failed to go to a vote in the senate. Almost all northern democrats showed their support to the bill unlike their southern counterparts who voted against it. This was a clear indication that southerners and northerners held different opinion in this debate. Polk himself was of the Idea that there be rules that governed human trafficking with limitation to which states they could be trafficked to. This is opinion is believed to have weakened  his support since John Calhoun  advocated there be freedom for human owners to have liberty to transport freely in any territory of the united states (James, 1999).

Though slave trade had been abolished by 1808, slave ownership continued to mid 19^th century. The existence of this act of slavery magnified the differences between south and north. Southern economy depended on agriculture and the only way to get adequate cheap labor was through slavery whereas the north economy relied on trade and manufacturing. The two states acted to some extent independently and they were at liberty to either allow this kind of trade or abolish it. Though the north seemed interested in abolishing the slavery, the south were not ready to embrace change and this led to northern abolitionists joining the African-American in forming underground rail road that helped them escape to northern states (James, 1995).

One thing that comes out very clearly is the disparity that existed between the North and the South. President Polk is described to be a slave holder following the suit of almost all the former southern presidents. He was not only a planter but was very much involved in slave business which included buying and was aggressive in this business than any other president. From the records, they support this allegation by showing how he facilitated this business where children were separated from their parents even at a very early age. Though he portrayed himself as being anti slavery to the Northern democrats, his acts were totally opposite on how he presented himself (Mccoy, 1973).

In summary, President Polk played a great role in manifesting and the use of slavery despite the efforts that were exhibited by the anti-slavery movements. His lack of commitment to end it always made him and the majority of southerners not to be I god terms with each other which led to widening rifts between these two groups. The revelation from Polk’s diary on his belief that slavery did not have room for existence in Mexican won territories, shows how he was not truly committed in abolishing it to the extent of refusing to endorse the wilmort proviso. It will be therefore true to say Polk was interested in expanding slavery and took no effort as compared to Northern America to minimize or even endorse laws that could have seen into the end of the inhuman act (Polk, 1929).

References

American president, Retrieved on 24/09/09 from:http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/polk/essays/biography/4, 2009.

James. Polk. (). Retrieved on 24/09/09. From:  http://histclo.com/Pres/Ind19/polk.html, 1999

McCormac, .Eugene Irving, James K. Polk: A Political Biography. 2 v., Newton, American Political Biography Press, 1995.

McCoy, Charles A, Polk and the Presidency ,New York, Haskell House Publishers, 1973.

Polk, The diary of a president, 1845-1849, covering the Mexican War, the acquisition of Oregon, and the conquest of California and the Southwest London, New York: Longmans, Green and Co., abridged edition by Allan Nevins, 1929.