Eugene Irving McCormac, 746 pages, 1922.

A comprehensive political biography of James Knox Polk (1795–1849), eleventh President of the United States, examining his rise from Tennessee politics to the presidency and his role in shaping the territorial and political development of the United States. Historian Eugene Irving McCormac concentrates on Polk's public career, political principles, leadership, and administration rather than presenting a primarily personal biography.

The narrative begins with Polk's ancestry and early life, his legal career, and his entry into Tennessee and national politics. Subsequent chapters examine his congressional service, the struggle over the Bank of the United States, his contest with John Bell for the speakership, his years as Speaker of the House, his governorship of Tennessee, and the presidential nomination and election of 1844.

The extensive treatment of Polk's presidency covers the annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the Oregon boundary dispute, slavery and territorial governments, tariff policy, internal improvements, the independent treasury, and diplomatic affairs. Includes a bibliography and index. A substantial reference for researchers studying James K. Polk, Jacksonian Democracy, Tennessee political history, American territorial expansion, and the presidency in the antebellum period.