James K. Polk

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/james-k-polk

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was James K. Polk born?November 2, 1795, in Pineville, North Carolina
2. When did James K. Polk die?June 15, 1849, in Nashville, Tennessee
3. What is the presidential term?March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849 (11th President)
4. Who was James K. Polk?James K. Polk was the 11th President of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He was known for his strong belief in expanding the country.
5. What did James K. Polk do to make the United States bigger?Polk made the United States bigger by annexing Texas, winning the Mexican‑American War, and negotiating the Oregon boundary with Britain.

Manifest Destiny: The 19th-century doctrine that the United States was destined to expand across the North American continent.
Mexican Cession: The territory surrendered by Mexico to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.
Sectionalism: Loyalty to one's own region or section of the country, rather than to the country as a whole, particularly concerning the North-South divide over slavery.
Jacksonian Democracy: The political philosophy advocating for greater democracy for the common man, associated with President Andrew Jackson.