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Correspondence Of James K. Polk, Vol. 10 - July-December 1845 (Hardcover, New)
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Correspondence Of James K. Polk, Vol. 10 - July-December 1845 (Hardcover, New)
Series: Utp Correspondence James Polk
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Total price: R1,796
Discovery Miles: 17 960
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In the second half of 1845 the focus of Polk's correspondence
shifted from those issues relating to the formation of his
administration and distribution of part patronage to those that
would give shape and consequence to his presidency: the admission
of Texas, preparation for its defense, restoration of diplomatic
relations with Mexico, and termination of joint occupancy of the
Oregon Country. For the most part the incoming letters tended to
urge rather more militancy on the Texas and Oregon questions than
Polk would adopt, and notions of national destiny registered a
singular theme of buoyant confidence in taking on both Mexico and
Great Britain if military action should be required. President Polk
and Secretary of State James Buchanan succeeded in both using and
controlling the surge of nationalism that heightened expectations
for expansion westward.
Polk and Buchanan agreed on the importance of reestablishing
diplomatic relations with Mexico, but the President chose to take a
personal hand in managing the selection and instruction of John
Slidell, whose departure for Vera Cruz would not be made public
until he had arrived in Mexico. Polk wanted to give the fledgling
Mexican administration of Jose Joaquin Herrera a chance to compose
Mexico's differences with Washington free of contrary pressures
from Great Britain and France; and he fully understood the price
that Herrara might pay for a peaceful settlement of the Texas
question. If Mexico required more than $6 million for the purchase
of their two most northern provinces, as provided in his
instructions, Slidell might agree to any reasonable additional
sum.
Slidell's mission probably never had much chance of success, for
without control of his military the Herrara administration could
neither give up its claim to Texas nor overcome British opposition
to the sale of New Mexico and Upper California. Within but a few
days of Slidell's arrival in the Mexican capital, Mariano Paredes y
Argilla organized a military coup, put the Herrera government to
flight, and on January 2, 1846, declared himself interim of
president of Mexico.
Polk left on the table his predecessor's initiative to divide the
Oregon Country at the 49th parallel with all of Vancouver Island
going to the British. The summary rejection of that offer by the
British minister to Washington, Richard Packenham, so angered Polk
that on August 30th he formally withdrew all prior offers to settle
the dispute. The British foreign secretary, Lord Aberdeen,
disavowed and assured the U.S. minister to Britain, Louis McLane,
that no ultimatum had been sanctioned by his government. Buchanan
tried in vain to soften Polk's decision to initiate further
negotiations, but he had determined to give the required one year
advance notice prior to abrogating the treaty of joint occupancy.
Accordingly, in his First Annual Message to Congress Polk asked for
a joint resolution terminating Oregon agreements with Great
Britain. Polk received high praise for his Message and its hard
line on Texas and Oregon.
In addition to the texts, briefs, and annotations, the editors
have calendared all of the documents for the last six months of
1845. Entries for unpublished letters include documents' dates,
addresses, classifications, repositories, and precis.
The Polk Project is sponsored by the University of Tennessee and
assisted by grants from the National Historical Publications and
Records Commission, the Nations Endowment for the Humantines, and
the Tennessee Historical Commission.
The Authors:
Wayne Cutler is research professor of history at the University of
Tennessee. He earned his bachelor's degree at Lamar University and
his master's and doctor's degrees and University of Texas at
Austin. Professor Cutler became director of the Polk Project in
1975, served as associate editor in the fourth volume of the
correspondence, and headed the editorial team in the preparation of
the series' fifth and subsequent volumes. He began his professional
career in 1966 as an editorial associate of the Southwestern
Historic Quarterly and moved to the assistant editorship of the
Henry Clay Project in 1970.
James L. Rogers II, the Project's associate editor from 1995 until
2002, received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the
University of Louisiana at Monroe and his doctor's degree from the
University of Tennessee. He joined the Polk staff in 1991 as
graduate research assistant and became associate editor following
completion of the series' ninth volume.
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