USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Polk eventually achieved all his goals. He was a champion of manifest destiny–the belief that the United States was fated to expand across the North American continent–and by the end of his four years in office, the nation extended, for the first time, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Detailed explanation-2: -Polk was backed by many in the United States who believed they had the God-given right to rule the territories to the west. This Manifest Destiny was presented as giving the U.S. permission to do what was necessary to conquer those lands. As a result, the U.S. waged war to take the northern half of Mexico.

Detailed explanation-3: -Polk supported immediate annexation of Texas because he argued it was originally part of the Louisiana Purchase but was unjustly lost with the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819. Polk ran on an expansionist platform where his main promises consisted of the annexation of Texas and the Oregon Territory.

Detailed explanation-4: -Democrats replied Polk was the candidate who stood for expansion. He linked the Texas issue, popular in the South, with the Oregon question, attractive to the North. Polk also favored acquiring California. Even before he could take office, Congress passed a joint resolution offering annexation to Texas.

Detailed explanation-5: -US President James K. Polk (1845-1849) is the leader most associated with Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny inflamed sectional tensions over slavery, which ultimately led to the Civil War.