A Country of Vast Designs
James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent
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.
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Buy from us:
- Simon & Schuster |
- 592 pages |
- ISBN 9780743297448 |
- November 2010
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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,...
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Q. how did you come to write A Country of Vast Designs?
A. The idea came from my editor at Simon & Schuster, Alice Mayhew, who asked me, ``What do you know about the Mexican War?'' I said I knew little but understood that the politics surrounding that war and the expansionist zeal that had captured the country during that time were extremely intense and fascinating. So I embarked on a research initiative and crafted an approach to telling the story. Alice liked it and set me on my course. The result is A COUNTRY OF VAST DESIGNS.
