The President Who Doubled the Size of America and Made It a Country from Sea to Shining Sea

James K. Polk served as the 11th U.S. president from 1845 to 1849. During his administration, the United States acquired territory through the annexation of Texas in 1845, the Oregon Treaty with Britain in 1846, and the Mexican-American War, which concluded with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. These acquisitions expanded U.S. territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Polk was a lawyer from Tennessee before entering politics.

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