Serving only one term, from 1845 to 1849, James Polk was a Democrat who founded his campaign on the idea of supporting manifest destiny and the fact America was entitled and destined to expand westward. He advocated for the annexation of Texas after it declared independence from Mexico in 1836. Polk also wanted to expand the Oregon territory and assimilate it into the country. He also advocated for limited government and a reduction in trade tariffs. However, one of the glaring issues was that his desire for the annexation of Texas was met with immediate controversy. First, he was in favor of annexing Texas as a slave state, which would make it the largest slave state by land mass, which would perpetuate the desire to keep slavery as an institution.
