Segment from
The More Things Change
James K. Polk
Historian Michael Holt explains the lasting impact of a little-known president, James K. Polk, and the Backstory hosts ask whether Polk’s expansion of US territory was a foregone conclusion or the mark of presidential power & influence.
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View Resources
Further Reading
All Centuries
- “I Do Solemnly Swear…“: Presidential Inaugurations at the Library of Congress
- Inaugural addresses from Washington to Obama
- Historians discuss inaugurations past and present on the PBS NewsHour
- PDF)
- Inauguration history from the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
- National Archives reporting on abrupt transitions
- Presidential inaugurations resource list
18th Century
19th Century
- Why did President Polk want war with Mexico?
20th Century & Beyond
- Text & video of Barack Obama’s 2009 inaugural address
- A series of reports on presidential transitions
- White House transitions interviews from the Nixon to Clinton administrations
- Week one and counting – how presidents spent the first eleven weeks in office
- A day-by-day account of Barack Obama’s transition