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William Hawkins Polk (May 24, 1815 – December 16, 1862) was an American politician and a member of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
for
Tennessee's 6th congressional district The 6th congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in Middle Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican John Rose since January 2019. Current boundaries The district is located in north-central Tennessee and borders K ...
from 1851 to 1853. He was the younger brother of President
James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
. Prior to his election to Congress, he had been a member of the
Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...
(1841–1845), served as U.S. Minister to the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...
(1845–1847), and fought as a
major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
in the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Polk supported the Union.
Makers of America
', Vol. 1 (B.F. Johnson, 1915), p. 567.
He ran for Governor of Tennessee in 1861, but lost to the secessionist incumbent,
Isham G. Harris Isham Green Harris (February 10, 1818July 8, 1897) was an American politician who served as the 16th governor of Tennessee from 1857 to 1862, and as a U.S. senator from 1877 until his death. He was the state's first governor from West Tennessee. ...
.


Early life

Polk was born in
Maury County, Tennessee Maury County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Middle Tennessee region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 100,974. Its county seat is Columbia, Tennessee, C ...
, the ninth of ten children of
Samuel Polk Samuel Polk (July 5, 1772 – December 3, 1827) was an American surveyor, slave owner, and the father of U.S. President James Knox Polk. His slaves included Elias Polk. Life Samuel Polk was born in 1772 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. ...
(1772–1827) and Jane (Knox) Polk (1776–1852). He attended the public schools of Columbia, and the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
in 1832 and 1833. He graduated from the
University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
at
Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...
, studied law, was admitted to the
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...
in 1839, and commenced practice in Columbia. Polk engaged in reckless behavior as a youth that his family found troubling. He was described as a spendthrift prone to "extravagance" and "light amusements." A letter from his brother, James K. Polk, warned him, "you are getting into habits that must inevitably destroy you." In 1838, William H. Polk killed Robert Hayes, a young Nashville lawyer, following an altercation at the Nelson House in Columbia. The two had apparently been arguing when Polk insulted Hayes, and Hayes responded by throwing a cup at Polk. Polk then obtained a whip and lashed Hayes with it, prompting Hayes to flee. Shortly afterward, Hayes attempted to ambush Polk with a
derringer A derringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver nor a semi/ fully automatic pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepperbox configuration. ...
, but his lone shot missed. Polk drew his own gun and returned fire, killing Hayes. Polk was tried for murder, but convicted of a lesser charge, and sentenced to six weeks in jail and a $750 fine. He was defended at trial by his brother's former law partner,
Gideon Pillow Gideon Johnson Pillow (June 8, 1806 – October 8, 1878) was an American lawyer, politician, speculator, slaveowner, United States Army major general of volunteers during the Mexican–American War and Confederate brigadier general in the Americ ...
. Polk was elected to Maury County's seat in the
Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...
in 1841. His brother, the incumbent governor, had been defeated for reelection that same year. William H. Polk was reelected to a second term in 1843.


Ambassadorship

On March 13, 1845, William H. Polk was appointed ''
chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
'' to the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...
by his brother, who had just been elected president. After being brought up to speed on conditions in the kingdom by the new Secretary of State,
James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...
, Polk arrived in
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, the kingdom's capital, on July 18, 1845, and was received by the Prince of Scilla, the kingdom's foreign affairs minister, on July 24. Throughout his brief term, Polk would rely on the advice of longtime U.S. Consul to Naples, Alexander Hammett.Howard R. Marraro, "William H. Polk's Mission to Naples, 1845–1847," ''Tennessee Historical Quarterly'', Vol. 4 (1945), pp. 222–231. Polk's primary goal was to negotiate a commercial treaty that would allow the United States to trade with the kingdom on the same terms as Britain, France, and Spain, whose imports to the kingdom received lower tariff rates. Three attempts to negotiate such a treaty—the first by
Auguste Davezac Auguste Davezac (May 30, 1780 – February 15, 1851) was a Saint Dominican-American diplomat who served twice as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands. Biography Auguste Genevieve Valentin D'Avezac was born in May, 1780, near Aux Cayes in ...
in 1833, the second by
Enos Throop Enos Thompson Throop ( ; August 21, 1784 – November 1, 1874) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who was the tenth Governor of New York from 1829 to 1832. Early life and career Throop was born in Johnstown, New York on August 21, ...
in 1838, and the third by Polk's predecessor, William Boulware, in 1841—had all failed. Hammett had warned Polk that the kingdom was very protective of its Naples tobacco market, leaving Polk concerned that a treaty might not be possible unless he offered a quid pro quo for the tobacco tariff reductions. Buchanan instructed Polk to focus on obtaining any treaty, no matter how minimal, that would put the U.S. on an equal footing with Britain, France and Spain. Treaty negotiations began on November 28, 1845, with Polk meeting with the representatives of
King Ferdinand II Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...
: Don Giustino Fortunato, Don Michele Gravina, and Don Antonio Spinelli. An agreement was reached after three days, and a copy of the proposed treaty was transmitted to Washington on December 1. While the treaty wasn't as favorable as the U.S. had hoped, it did outline rules regarding duties on tonnage and purchase imports, and rights regarding navigation, shipwrecks, movement of citizens, and asylum. The treaty was ratified in April 1846. It remained in effect until a new treaty was negotiated by the
Pierce Administration The presidency of Franklin Pierce began on March 4, 1853, when Franklin Pierce was inaugurated, and ended on March 4, 1857. Pierce, a Democrat from New Hampshire, took office as the 14th United States president after routing Whig Party nominee ...
in 1855. In a January 1847 dispatch, Polk warned of deteriorating conditions in the kingdom, some of which would fuel the political upheavals of the following year. He reported the failure of the year's grain crop, and noted this would certainly cause an increase in
food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing an ...
, which were already high. He also reported growing restlessness and anti-Bourbon sentiment among the kingdom's lower classes. He suggested the United States might boost its image by providing increased food shipments to Western Europe. After the outbreak of the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
, Polk requested a leave of absence (which eventually became a resignation). He transferred his authority to Hammett, and left Naples in May 1847.


Mexican–American War

In August 1847, Polk joined the Third Regiment of United States Dragoons with the rank of major. This unit, commanded by Colonel Edward G.W. Butler, was one of several temporary regiments created to augment the regular army's war efforts. Polk was one of two majors in the regiment, the other being Lewis Cass, Jr., the son of Senator
Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He w ...
. Polk and the Third Dragoons took part in General
Joseph Lane Joseph "Joe" Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing Evansville, Indiana, and then served in the Mexican–American War, becoming a general. President James K. P ...
's pursuit of General
Santa Anna Santa Anna may refer to: * Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States * Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas * Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. ...
in January 1848, and Lane's campaign against the guerrilla forces of Padre Jarauta in late February 1848. Polk and a portion of Lane's forces engaged and defeated the Jarauta guerrillas at
Zacualtipan Zacualtipan (formally: Zacualtipan de Ángeles ) is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 241.6 km². As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 25,987. ...
on February 25, 1848. In late May 1848, two companies under Polk's command escorted an American delegation to
Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...
, where the two countries exchanged official ratifications of the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...
, bringing the war to an end.


Congress and other political activities

In 1850, Polk was a delegate to the
Nashville Convention {{Events leading to US Civil War The Nashville Convention was a political meeting held in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 3–11, 1850. Delegates from nine slave states met to consider secession, if the United States Congress decided to ban slavery ...
, a gathering of Southern representatives to plot strategy regarding the expansion of slavery in territories acquired during the Mexican–American War. In an attempt to counter the secessionist efforts of
Fire-Eaters In American history, the Fire-Eaters were a group of pro-slavery Democrats in the Antebellum South who urged the separation of Southern states into a new nation, which became the Confederate States of America. The dean of the group was Robert R ...
at the convention, Polk, a leader of the moderate Democrats, submitted resolutions that would allow the Southern states to accept the
Compromise of 1850 The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that defused a political confrontation between slave and free states on the status of territories acquired in the Mexican–Ame ...
. He would campaign in favor of the Compromise of 1850 in subsequent years, seeing it as the only means of preserving the Union. In 1851, Polk challenged the Democratic incumbent, James H. Thomas, for the party's nomination for the 6th district's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Failing in this, he ran against Thomas in the general election as an
Independent Democrat In U.S. politics, an independent Democrat is an individual who loosely identifies with the ideals of the Democratic Party but chooses not to be a formal member of the party (chooses to be an independent) or is denied the Democratic nomination i ...
, winning by a small margin. While in Congress, he opposed any attempts to tamper with or modify the
Fugitive Slave Act A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also kno ...
, and opposed the promotion of General
Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...
, recalling Scott's earlier attacks against
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
. After the Whig-dominated state legislature
gerrymandered In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
his district, Polk declined to seek reelection in 1853. Polk returned to his law practice after leaving Congress, but remained politically active. During the
presidential election of 1856 {{Short description, None The following elections occurred in the year 1856. North America United States * California's at-large congressional district * 1856 New York state election * 1856 and 1857 United States House of Representatives election ...
, Polk was nominated as an at-large
elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...
for his old State Department boss,
James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...
, who was the Democratic nominee for president. His chief opponent in the canvass was future congressman Horace Maynard, who was an elector for
Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...
. In 1857, Polk was elected to Maury County's seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives, defeating an independent candidate, William S. Bassford, 1,669 votes to 676. Polk again sought the 6th district's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1859, and spent several weeks battling his old foe, James H. Thomas, for the Democratic Party nomination. Fearing their squabble would cost the party the seat in the general election, Polk withdrew from the race in August.


Civil War

Polk persistently campaigned against secession during the growing sectional strife in the late 1850s, delivering sixty speeches, according to one source, in favor of remaining in the Union. During the 1860 presidential election, Polk campaigned as an elector for the Northern Democratic candidate,
Stephen Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which was ...
. He canvassed the state with his opponents Horace Maynard (elector for John Bell) and
Landon Carter Haynes Landon Carter Haynes (December 2, 1816 – February 17, 1875) was an American politician who served as a Confederate States senator from Tennessee from 1862 to 1865. He also served several terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives, inc ...
(elector for
John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...
), frequently engaging in tense debates. In January 1861, after
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
had seceded following the election of
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, Polk remained steadfast in his support for the Union. In a letter to a friend, he argued that Tennessee should not follow the path of South Carolina and submit itself to a "yoke shaped in an hour of madness and folly by political desperadoes." Following the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, however, Polk, like many Middle Tennessee Unionists, modified his position, stating that Tennessee must defend itself if federal troops invaded.Philip Hamer, ''Tennessee: A History, 1673-1932'' (New York: American Historical Society, Inc., 1933), pp. 553–554. He continued to waffle on the issue of secession in subsequent weeks. In May 1861, Polk chaired the state convention of the Union Party, which had been formed by ex-Whigs and pro-Union Democrats in hopes of stemming the rising secessionist furor led by Governor
Isham G. Harris Isham Green Harris (February 10, 1818July 8, 1897) was an American politician who served as the 16th governor of Tennessee from 1857 to 1862, and as a U.S. senator from 1877 until his death. He was the state's first governor from West Tennessee. ...
. This convention offered its gubernatorial nomination to former governor
William B. Campbell William Bowen Campbell (February 1, 1807 – August 19, 1867) was an American politician and soldier. He served as the 14th governor of Tennessee from 1851 to 1853, and was the state's last Whig governor. He also served four terms in the United ...
, but Campbell declined. A second, smaller convention nominated Polk as a last-minute candidate. During the campaign, Polk announced he was in favor of Tennessee joining the Confederacy. He was criticized by secessionists, nevertheless, for not speaking up in favor of separation sooner, and for earlier attacks on Confederate president
Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
. By the time the campaign had gotten underway, East Tennessee was threatening to withdraw from the state and join the Union, and Polk campaigned as the candidate best suited to reconcile East Tennessee with the rest of the state. He attacked Harris for ordering troops into East Tennessee, arguing the move only served to inflame already-heightened tensions in the region.Gov. Harris
" ''Nashville Union and American'', 26 July 1861, p. 2.
William G. Brownlow, a leader of the state's Unionists, reluctantly endorsed Polk as a lesser of two evils. On election day, Harris won in a landslide, 74,973 votes to 43,342. In the months following the election, Polk traveled to Washington to champion causes for the state's Unionists, including advocating the confiscation of the property of Confederates. In June 1862, after the Union Army had recaptured Nashville, he spoke at a Unionist convention in the city. In September 1862, Polk joined the staff of Union Army general
Thomas L. Crittenden Thomas Leonidas Crittenden (May 15, 1819 – October 23, 1893) was a lawyer, politician, and Union general during the American Civil War. Early life Crittenden was born in Russellville, Kentucky, the son of U.S. Senator John J. Crittenden, who ...
. After a trip to the Northern states in late 1862, Polk fell ill while staying at the St. Cloud Hotel in Nashville. He died suddenly on December 16, 1862. His sister-in-law, former First Lady
Sarah Childress Polk Sarah Childress Polk (September 4, 1803 – August 14, 1891) was the first lady of the United States from 1845 to 1849. She was the wife of the 11th president of the United States, James K. Polk. Well educated in a successful family, Sarah met he ...
, arranged for his body to be taken to Columbia (which was still behind enemy lines) under a flag of truce for burial. He is
interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
at Columbia's Greenwood Cemetery.


Family

Polk married Belinda G. Dickenson on April 18, 1837, in Maury County, Tennessee, and she died on March 26, 1844, in Nashville, Tennessee. He married Mary Louisa Corse on June 29, 1847, in New York City. She died on April 2, 1851. He married Lucy Eugenia Williams on July 14, 1854, in Montmorenci, North Carolina. She died on January 11, 1906, in Warren County, North Carolina.


References


External links

*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, William Hawkins 1815 births 1862 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Members of the Aztec Club of 1847 Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives William Hawkins Tennessee lawyers University of Tennessee alumni People from Maury County, Tennessee People of Tennessee in the American Civil War Southern Unionists in the American Civil War Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American diplomats United States Army officers People acquitted of murder