James K. Polk: Darkhorse candidate

In the election of 1844, the Whigs chose to pass over current Whig president John Tyler and nominated Henry Clay, who had previously run for president twice before with no luck. The frontrunner for the Democrats that year was Martin Van Buren, the former president. However, the Texas annexation issue was the talk of the day in 1844, and Van Buren came out against annexing Texas into the Union. This upset most southern Democrats, who wanted to add Texas and ultimately another slave state. The convention was held in Baltimore that year, and after the7th ballot, there was a dead lock between Michigan senator Lewis Cass and Martin Van Buren. Still alive and very influential at the time was former president Andrew Jackson, from Tennessee, who happened to recommend James K. Polk, a fellow Tennessean, previous Governor of Tennessee and Speaker of the House. Polk eventually received the nomination, and George Dallas of Pennsylvania was chosen to run as Vice President. The election of 1844 was very close, and more than likely a third party determined the outcome. Polk won New York by a very few thousand votes, and the Liberty Party candidate, James Birney, won enough votes in NY from Clay to prevent him from winning the state and the election. Polk was a very successful one-term president. He acquired the Oregon territory, (present day Washington state and Oregon) lowered the tariff, and added the entire west as we know it through victory in the war with Mexico, modern day California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah. Polk was determined not to seek another term in 1848, and retired to his home in Nashville after leaving office in March of 1849. He died only three months after leaving office. This particular print is a Currier and Ives portrait of all the presidents from Washington through Polk, and at the bottom reads President-elect Polk, meaning this print was produced between November 1844 and March 1845. Any James K. Polk related items are hard to come by, and anything under $100 is especially scarce.