President James K. Polk, often overlooked yet ever-consequential, comes to life in this “compelling, perceptive” ( The Wall Street Journal ) biography of the 11th President of the United States, Andrew Jackson ’s protégé, and champion of “manifest destiny.” When James K. Polk was elected president in 1844, the United States was locked in a bitter diplomatic struggle with Britain over which country would inherit the rich lands of the Oregon Territory. Texas, not yet part of the Union, was beset by hostile pressures from a more powerful Mexico. The great lands west of Texas—including what would become California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico—belonged to Mexico. Four years later, when Polk relinquished power, the country had grown by half. Oregon belonged to the United States, as did Texas and all the lands to the west stretching to the Pacific. In bringing this about, Polk expended huge quantities of political capital through bold and often divisive decision making. This is the dramatic narrative of that grand national ambition that went by the name of Manifest Destiny—the idea that it was America's fate to emerge as the greatest power of the Americas, with consolidated territory that stretched from sea to sea and with a capacity to project influence forcefully toward both Europe and Asia. This national dream and ambition turned out to be bigger than any man or any party or ideological outlook that took its place in the national debates of the time. Told through the towering figures of that time—such as the outgoing president John Tyler and Polk's great mentor, Andrew Jackson— A Country of Vast Designs captures the enormity of this national dream and provides profound insight into this era in America's history. “Robert Merry’s authoritative biography of James K. Polk. . . provides a compelling, perceptive portrait. . . Merry joins his skill at portraiture to thorough scholarship and a shrewd grasp of human nature.” – The Wall Street Journal “Filled with intricate stories of personal conflict, psychological gamesmanship, and unintended consequences. . . one of the most astute and informative historical accounts yet written about national politics, and especially Washington politics, during the decisive 1840s.” -- The New York Times Book Review “Polk was our most underrated President. He made the United States into a continental nation. Bob Merry captures the controversial and the visionary aspects of his presidency in a colorful narrative tale populated by great characters such as Jackson, Clay, and Can Buren.” –Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein: His Life and Universe “[Merry] brings a historian's perspective, a journalist's nose for the story and a novelist's eye to one of our country's most dramatic and defining moments. In strong, precise and elegant prose, Mr. Merry brings the key players of the day to life in terms of both personal characteristics and the causes they personified.” -- Washingtonian Robert W. Merry is the author of five previous books, including President McKinley: Architect of the American Century and A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent . He spent a decade covering Washington for The Wall Street Journal and served as an executive at Congressional Quarterly Inc. for twenty-two years, including twelve years as CEO. He also is the former editor of The National Interest and The American Conservative. He lives with his wife, Susan, in Langley, Washington, and Washington, DC. A Country of Vast Designs INTRODUCTION: RITUAL OF DEMOCRACY The Emergence of an Expansionist President PRECISELY AT SUNRISE on the morning of March 4, 1845, the roar of cannon shattered the dawn’s early quiet of Washington, D.C.—twenty-eight big guns fired in rapid succession. Thus did the American military announce to the nation’s capital that it was about to experience the country’s highest ritual of democracy, the inauguration of the nation’s executive leader and premier military commander. James Knox Polk was about to become that leader and commander. On this morning he was ensconced along with his wife, Sarah, at the National Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, known popularly as Coleman’s, just ten blocks east of the White House. That night the two of them would be residing at the presidential mansion. At forty-nine, Polk would be the youngest of the country’s eleven presidents—and, in the view of his many detractors, the most unlikely. Until the previous May of 1844, when he had emerged unexpectedly as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, few had imagined the man would ever rise to the presidency. Indeed, just a year earlier his political career had appeared in ruin following his third campaign for Tennessee governor. He had won the office in 1839 but had been expelled two years later by a backwoods upstart known as Lean Jimmy Jones, who had greeted his exacting rhetoric and serious demeanor with ligh