"It remained to persuade Mexico to recognise this state of affairs, and also to fix the boundaries of Texas. President Polk was determined to push them as far south as possible, and war was inevitable. It broke out in May 1846. Meanwhile a similar train of events was unfolding on the other side of the continent. All this time American penetration of the West had continued, often with grim experiences of starvation and winter snows. Nothing could stop the migration towards the Pacific. The lure of the rich China trade and the dream of controlling the Western Ocean brought the acquisition of California to the fore, and gave her even more importance in American eyes than Texas. In June 1846 the American settlers in California, instigated from Washington, raised the Bear Flag as their standard of revolt and declared their independence on the Texan model. Soon afterwards American forces arrived and the Stars and Stripes replaced the Bear."
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Democratic Party (United States) politiciansLawyers from the United StatesMembers of the United States House of RepresentativesFreemasonsGovernors of Tennessee
Original Language: English
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Sources
Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Volume IV: The Great Democracies (1958), pp. 111-112
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_K._Polk
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James K. Polk
James Knox Polk (2 November 1795 - 15 June 1849) was the 11th president of the United States (1845–49). A Democrat, Polk served as the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–39) — the only president to have served as House speaker — and governor of Tennessee (1839–41). Polk was the surprise (dark horse) candidate for president in 1844, defeating Henry Clay of the rival Whig Party by promising to annex Texas. Polk was a leader
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