General Scott directed to proceed to the seat of war.-General Taylor ad- vised to act upon the defensive.-Complaints of General Taylor.-Move- ments of Santa Anna.-He advances upon Agua Nueva.-Battle of Bue- na Vista.-General Scott takes Vera Cruz and the castle of San Juan De Ulloa.-Capture of Alvarado.-Victory of Cerro Gordo.-Jalapa and Perote fall into the hands of the Americans.-Appointment of Mr. Trist as Commissioner to Mexico.-Puebla is surrendered to General Worth. -Arrival of reinforcements from the United States.-The American Battle of Contreras.— Worth's division storms San Antonio.-Victory of Churubusco.—Armistice granted.-Negotiations broken off.-Sanguinary battle of Molino del Rey.--Storming of Chapultepec.-Surrender of the city-Santa Anna resigns the Presidency.-Attacks Colonel Childs at Puebla.-Major Lally forces his way from Vera Cruz to Jalapa.-He is joined by General Lane with 2,500 men.- invested in Mr. Trist revoked.-Contributions exacted.-Treaty concluded by Mr. Trist.-General Scott recalled.-General Butler appointed to the command of the army.-Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo.-Americans evacuate Mexico.-The army of the United States.-Territory acquired The Tariff-Opinions of Messrs. Clay and Polk upon that question.—Mes- sage of Mr. Polk.-Report of the Secretary of the Treasury.-Passage of the Tariff of 1846.-Arguments of the friends and opponents of free trade. -The Constitutional Treasury established.-Discussions in the Constitu- tional Convention -Pablic Debt of the United States.-Proposed Tax Land granted to soldiers-Post-Office Department.-Rates of postage. -Foreign mails.-Lines established to Chagres and California.—The The veto power exercised by Mr. Polk-The instructions to Mr. Slidell.— The slavery question.-The Wilmot Proviso.-The slavery question in the Constitutional Convention.-The Missouri compromise.-Territorial Go- vernment for Oregon.—Admission of Wisconsin and Iowa into the Union. -Progress made in the arts and sciences.-State of American literature THE POLK ADMINISTRATION. CHAPTER I. Early History of James K. Polk.-His Election to Congress.-Chosen Governor of Tennessee.-Influences which produced his nomination for the Presidency in 1844.-Presidential contest of 1844.-Elevated to the Presidency. Selection of his Cabinet. JAMES KNOX POLK, the eleventh President of the United States, was born in Mecklenburgh county, North Carolina, on the 2d of November, 1795. He was the eldest of ten children. His ancestors emigrated from Ireland during the first part of the eighteenth century, and settled in the State of Maryland. A portion of the family removed, first to Pennsylvania, and about the year 1750 they located in North Carolina. In 1806, Major Samuel Polk, the father of James K. Polk, emigrated to Tennessee and settled upon Duck River. It was here that young Polk endured the hardships of a border life until his constitution, which was then quite delicate, came near giving way under the toil and fatigue to which he was exposed. Yielding to the persuasions of his son, Major Polk enabled him to enter the college at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1815, where he graduated in three years, with the highest honors. He was distinguished at college for laborious application to his studies, and by a strict conformity to the regulations of the institution. He was always present at recitations, and invariably attended morning and evening prayers in the Chapel. When he completed his collegiate education, he entered the office of the celebrated Felix Grundy to prepare himself for the practice of the law. He commenced the arduous duties of his profession in 1820, in the county of Maury, and at once assumed a high position at the bar. In 1821 he was Clerk to the Legislature of Tennessee. His political career commenced in 1823, when he was elected a member of the Legislature of Tennessee. In 1825 he was elevated to a seat in Congress. He was re-elected He was re-elected every succeeding two years until 1839. In 1835 he was Speaker of the House of Representatives, to which position he was re-elected in 1837. In 1839, he was chosen Governor of Tennessee, and in 1844 President of the United States. The rapidity with which he was elevated, step by step, to the highest position on earth, is indeed remarkable, and proves conclusively that his success was not the result of circumstances alone. No one who knew Mr. Polk ever considered him a brilliant genius. His mind possessed solidity rather than imagination. His perception was intuitive, and his memory retentive to an extraordinary degree, while his judgment rarely led him into error. His manners were remarkably affable, and always made an impression upon those who knew him. Among his intimate friends, he indulged his wit and humor with perfect freedom, and they always found him a pleasant and instructive companion. The career of Mr. Polk was as remarkable for its brilliancy as for the substantial fruits which it produced. The prominent trait of his character was extraordinary energy. In college, at the bar, in his political canvasses, and in the discharge of his executive duties, he was alike distinguished for his untiring industry and indomitable will. This frequently induced him to devote his attention too much to minute details, and had the effect of impairing his constitution. It was in his canvasses that he exhibited all the resources of his mind. Disaster only had the effect of arousing his powers, and stimulated him to win victory where others were subdued by defeat. Three times he canvassed the State of Tennessee as a candidate for Governor. In 1839 he was elected over Newton Cannon, and in 1841 and 1843 he was defeated by James C. Jones. No one who has not experienced the fatigues of such a struggle, can appreciate its labors. Undismayed by the task before him, Col. Polk always commenced the contest buoyant with hope. He invariably succeeded in inspiring his friends with his own enthusiasm; no obstacle could deter him from an energetic discharge of his duty. Subsisting upon the plainest food, and perfectly |