A Country of Vast Designs

James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent

Plot

President James K. Polk, often overlooked yet ever-consequential, comes to life in this “compelling, perceptive portrait” (The Wall Street Journal) biography of the 11th President of the United States, Andrew Jackson protégé, and champion of “manifest destiny.”

In a one-term presidency, James K. Polk completed the story of America’s Manifest Destiny—extending its territory across the continent by threatening England with war and manufacturing a controversial and unpopular two-year war with Mexico.