Chapter 8

James K. Polk and the 1844 Election

Summary
     The setting of this chapter is Baltimore in May 1844, where the Democratic national convention is taking place to nominate a presidential candidate. To understand why the Democratic Party is so "distracted, divided, and leaderless," we must first go back to what took place months before on a ship called the Princeton (113). The President was on the ship, as were many other dignitaries, and they were observing the "Peacemaker," an impressive gun. The "Peacemaker"exploded and killed the Secretary of State and of the Navy, a tragic accident that had a tremendous effect on the party because it brought forth the issue of the annexation of Texas and caused a division between the Southwest and the North. Van Buren, a strong Democratic candidate, stated that he opposed immediate annexation, which basically ruined his career from that point on, and James K. Polk, a man who was pro annexation, became "the only man Northern Democrats could support if Van Buren [was] cast aside" (116).
      He knew that the only way the Democratic Party could get anywhere was if they united on a single, pro-annexation candidate, but there were many other presidential hopefuls in the running, so the introduction of a two-thirds rule into the convention completely dead-locked them, leading to seven inconclusive ballots, with the votes split among Van Buren and Cass. A violent commotion ensued, and Polk's allies worked behind the scenes, getting the stubborn Van Buren states to rally on him instead. It was completely out of the blue, but soon the delegates realize that he was the candidate who was going to unite the party. Van Buren withdrew, and the votes became unanimous for Polk, who, it was said, was going to lead the nation in a "new and fresh direction" (129). Although he was unknown, and people were wary, he turned out to be a strong, dedicated leader, and a great President.

Reflection
      I was very confused by this chapter from the beginning. What is "Old Hickory's party" referring to, and what is the "'log cabin, hard cider' election" (113)? Apparently Old Hickory was a nickname for former president Andrew Jackson, which cleared things up a little.
      I understood the general concepts, but it was very difficult to understand and keep straight who was in each party, and what all of their beliefs were. The author's writing style was confusing to me. First of all, why was the annexation of Texas such a big deal, and why did the Northern Democrats oppose it and the Southern Democrats agree with it? And, why could the Northern Democrats support an immediate-annexation man from the Southwest? It didn't make any sense. For those who don't have much background knowledge on the subject, it was a very hard read, and things should have been explained a bit more.