Learn Our History Today: On November 2, two U.S. Presidents, James K. Polk and Warren G. Harding, were born; Polk in 1795 and Harding in 1865. James K. Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina and grew up on a plantation there. When he became old enough he launched into a career of politics, moving his way up the political ladder until 1844, when he was elected President, mainly because of the support and backing he received from former President Andrew Jackson. His presidency is most remembered for the Mexican-American war, which began in 1846 after the U.S. was “invaded” by a small group of Mexican troops. The war was highly controversial and was mainly spurred by an insatiable desire for new territory due to the belief that it was America’s “Manifest Destiny” to stretch across the entire continent. The fighting proved to be very costly, both in the number of men lost, more than 13,000, and the number of dollars spent, a humongous 100 Million dollars. Not surprisingly, Polk lost the next election because of the unpopular war. Ironically, the man that defeated him, Zachary Taylor, only rose to prominence because of his service in the Mexican-American War. Warren G. Harding was born in Corsica, Ohio and in 1891, at the urging of his wife, entered politics. He rose rapidly in political prominence and was elected to the senate in 1915, and then the presidency in 1920. His victory was due to his campaign promise to return the nation to “normalcy” following the devastation of World War I. His presidency is best remembered for the Teapot Dome scandal, in which his Secretary of State, leased government owned, oil rich property to oil companies, for what was essentially a bribe of$ 500,000. However, Harding was also able to do some good things such as providing for the advancement of civil rights for women and African-Americans. The Teapot Dome still took its toll on the aging President, and on August 2, 1923, he died of heart attack while visiting San Francisco.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 13:27:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015