专八人文知识需知美国名人--詹姆斯.波尔克

专八人文知识需知的美国名人--詹姆斯.波尔克

　　英语专八人文知识涵盖的知识面较广，考生们需要平时多积累小常识，这样在专八考试中才能游刃有余，新东方在线整理了专八人文知识需知的美国名人系列知识点供考生们参考。

　　詹姆斯·波尔克是安德鲁·杰克逊的忠实门徒，有小山核桃之称，他在1844年大选成僵局时，异军突起，成为第一个黑马总统。在短短的四年任期内，完成了对选民的四大承诺：降低关税;恢复独立国库制;解决俄勒冈边界问题;取得加利福尼亚地区。把美国领土向北扩张到北纬49°线，向西扩张到太平洋，向南几乎兼并了墨西哥一半领土，今天美国领土的1/4是他取得的，他每天工作18小时以上，而且没有休闲活动，以至于未老先衰，离开白宫三个月就病逝了，他被历史学家评为美国最勤奋最有效率的总统。

　　James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th President of the UnitedStates (1845–1849). Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.[1] He later lived in andrepresented the state of Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as Speaker of the House (1835–1839) and Governor of Tennessee (1839–1841) before becoming president. The Polk family wasvery close with the Laws family, their families married into each others frequently.

　　A firm supporter of Andrew Jackson, Polk was the last strong pre-Civil War president. Polk is notedfor his foreign policy successes. He threatened war with Britain then backed away and split theownership of the Northwest with Britain. He is more famous for leading the nation into theMexican–American War, in which the US was victorious. He lowered the tariff and established atreasury system that lasted until 1913.

　　As president, Polk "expanded the Union by settling claims to Texas and the Oregon Territory andby acquiring California and the Southwest". The expansion reopened a furious national debate overallowing slavery in the new territories. The controversy was inadequately arbitrated by theCompromise of 1850, and finally found its ultimate resolution on the battlefields of the U.S. CivilWar. Polk signed the Walker Tariff that brought an era of nearly free trade to the country until1861. He oversaw the opening of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Smithsonian Institution, thegroundbreaking for the Washington Monument, and the issuance of the first postage stamps inthe United States, introduced by his Postmaster General Cave Johnson.

　　Being satisfied with the accomplishments of his term, he did not seek re-election, and retired aspromised. He died of cholera three months after his term ended. Scholars have ranked himfavorably on the list of greatest presidents for his ability to set an agenda and achieve all of it. Polkhas been called the "least known consequential president" of the United States.

　　Presidency (1845–1849)

　　When he took office on March 4, 1845, Polk, at 49, became the youngest man at the time toassume the presidency. According to a story told decades later by George Bancroft, Polk set fourclearly defined goals for his administration:

　　The reestablishment of the Independent Treasury System.

　　The reduction of tariffs.

　　Acquisition of some or all the Oregon Country.

　　The acquisition of California and New Mexico from Mexico.

　　Pledged to serve only one term, he accomplished all these objectives in just four years. By linkingacquisition of new lands in Oregon (with no slavery) and Texas (with slavery), he hoped to satisfyboth North and South. During his presidency James K. Polk was known as "Young Hickory" and"The Napoleon of the Stump" for his speaking skills.

　　War with Mexico

　　After the Texas annexation, Polk turned his attention to California, hoping to acquire the territoryfrom Mexico before any European nation did so. The main interest was San Francisco Bay as anaccess point for trade with Asia. In 1845, he sent diplomat John Slidell to Mexico to purchaseCalifornia and New Mexico for $20–30 million. Slidell's arrival caused political turmoil in Mexico afterword leaked out that he was there to purchase additional territory and not to offer compensationfor the loss of Texas. The Mexicans refused to receive Slidell, citing a technical problem with hiscredentials. In January 1846, to increase pressure on Mexico to negotiate, Polk sent troops underGeneral Zachary Taylor into the area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande—territory thatwas claimed by both the U.S. and Mexico.

　　Slidell returned to Washington in May 1846, having been rebuffed by the Mexican government.Polk regarded this treatment of his diplomat as an insult and an "ample cause of war", and heprepared to ask Congress for a declaration of war. Meanwhile Taylor crossed the Rio Grande Riverand briefly occupied Matamoros, Tamaulipas. Taylor continued to blockade ships from entering theport of Matamoros. Mere days before Polk intended to make his request to Congress, he receivedword that Mexican forces had crossed the Rio Grande area and killed eleven American soldiers. Polkthen made this the casus belli, and in a message to Congress on May 11, 1846, he stated thatMexico had "invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil."

　　Some in Congress expressed doubts about Polk's version of events, but Congress overwhelminglyapproved the declaration of war. Many Whigs feared that opposition would cost them politically bycasting themselves as unpatriotic for not supporting the war effort.

　　In the House, antislavery Whigs led by John Quincy Adams voted against the war; amongDemocrats, Senator John C. Calhoun was the most notable opponent of the declaration.

　　By the summer of 1846, American forces under General Stephen W. Kearny had captured NewMexico. Meanwhile, Army captain John C. Frémont led settlers in northern California to overthrowthe Mexican garrison in Sonoma (in the Bear Flag Revolt). General Zachary Taylor, at the sametime, was having success on the Rio Grande, although Polk did not reinforce his troops there. TheUnited States also negotiated a secret arrangement with Antonio López de Santa Anna, theMexican general and dictator who had been overthrown in 1844. Santa Anna agreed that, if givensafe passage into Mexico, he would attempt to persuade those in power to sell California and NewMexico to the United States. Once he reached Mexico, however, he reneged on his agreement,declared himself President, and tried to drive the American invaders back. Santa Anna's efforts,however, were in vain, as Generals Taylor and Winfield Scott destroyed all resistance. Scottcaptured Mexico City in September 1847, and Taylor won a series of victories in northern Mexico.Even after these battles, Mexico did not surrender until 1848, when it agreed to peace terms setout by Polk.

　　Polk sent diplomat Nicholas Trist to negotiate with the Mexicans. Lack of progress prompted thePresident to order Trist to return to the United States, but the diplomat ignored the instructionsand stayed in Mexico to continue bargaining. Trist successfully negotiated the Treaty of GuadalupeHidalgo in 1848, which Polk agreed to ratify, ignoring calls from Democrats who demanded theannexation of the whole of Mexico. The treaty added 1.2 million square miles (3.1 million squarekilometers) of territory to the United States; Mexico's size was halved, while that of the UnitedStates increased by a third. California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona, and parts of New Mexico,Colorado and Wyoming were all included in the Mexican Cession. The treaty also recognized theannexation of Texas and acknowledged American control over the disputed territory between theNueces River and the Rio Grande. Mexico, in turn, received the sum of $15 million. The war claimedfewer than 20,000 American lives but over 50,000 Mexican ones. It may have cost the UnitedStates $100 million. Finally, the Wilmot Proviso injected the issue of slavery in the new territories,even though Polk had insisted to Congress and in his diary that this had never been a war goal.

　　The treaty, however, needed ratification by the Senate. In March 1848, the Whigs, who had beenso opposed to Polk's policy, suddenly changed position. Two-thirds of the Whigs voted for Polk'streaty. This ended the war and legalized the acquisition of the territories. Later in 1848, the Whigsnominated Zachary Taylor, the hero of the war, for President. Taylor said there would be no futurewars, but he refused to criticize Polk, who kept his promise not to run for reelection.

　　The war had serious consequences for Polk and the Democrats. It gave the Whig Party a unifyingmessage of denouncing the war as an immoral act of aggression carried out through abuse ofpower by the President (even though they did vote for the funding of it). In 1848, the House ofRepresentatives voted to censure Polk for starting the war. Another consequence was the toll onPolk's health. As a result of the strain of managing the war effort directly and in close detail, hishealth markedly declined toward the end of his presidency.

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