Talk:James K. Polk

dick

Template:Vital article

Kennedy and Garfield?

No idea why it's relevant to discuss other presidents who were also survived by their mothers; it seems a complete non-sequitor. Nonetheless, I'm adding a discussion heading in case anyone feels need to argue the deletion. Reyemile (talk) 03:06, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

Great for random facts.. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.188.238.168 (talk) 07:14, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

Suspicious Photograph

The photograph in the Mexican War section, supposedly showing Polk at his desk with a pen seems more 20th Century than 1849. The quality of the photograph is amazing if it were actually from 1849. The style of the clothing, especially the collar looks like it is from the early 20th Century. Finally, the man only vaguely looks like Polk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:James_Knox_Polk.jpg

If this is legitimate, it is a great addition to the article, but I think someone needs to check up on this. York1066 (talk) 20:32, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

I agree. Not only does the alleged photo come from a site about Japanese pens(?), but the person in the picture does not really look like Polk to me. I am going to remove until someone comes up with some better information about it. Andy120290 (talk) 22:59, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

I believe that that photograph is not him.Oreocookey (talk) 15:25, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

That photograph definitely is not of Polk. I have tagged it for deletion, and my reasoning is laid out here.--Jim10701 (talk) 07:26, 25 February 2012 (UTC) theres no point in complaining about this shiut. so shut tthe fuck up.

?Middle Name?

What is his middle name? I couldn't find it, is it there? Oreocookey (talk) 15:19, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

"Knox." First sentence. Bms4880 (talk) 16:51, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

Notability questionable

How is he notable? 11th President? Not first or tenth of 50th, but 11th? I don't think he's even on any bills. I move for deletion, or at least merge with other presidential articles. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.6.1.24 (talk) 06:49, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

James K Polk Tuesday

Important radio segment dedicated to giving a weekly fact about Polk. GBTV's "The 4th Hour", hosted by Stu Burguiere and Pat Gray, reaches over 233,000 paid subscribers every Tuesday with a fact about James K. Polk and should be noted in this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.254.126.57 (talk) 01:56, 4 May 2011 (UTC)

James K Polk Tuesday has been suspended while Gray and Burguiere build the 4th Hour Constitution. Gray has advocated for the demise of the segment, often putting the measure to vote by listeners on The Feed, a live in-program chat. This usually fails by a tally of 69%-31% in favor of keeping the segment. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.109.110.193 (talk) 03:48, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

Biography

In the list of references another biography "Young Hickory, The Life and Times of President James K. Polk" by Martha McBride Morrel should be added to the list. I cannot edit the page, but someone who can should look into adding it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.96.15.4 (talk) 18:26, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

"Polk High" in TV series "Married with children"

Al Bundy and his family went to "Polk High" high school on the 1980's TV show "Married with children". T-Shirts "Polk High" are still available on the market. Could someone please include this trivia into the article? 209.121.198.180 (talk) 03:52, 3 September 2011 (UTC)

DEATH

It would be nice to mention WHEN he visited New Orleans and thus likely contracted the cholera that probably killed him. It is not clear, and I vaguely remember that he visited after his Presidency...Help? 147.226.205.170 (talk) 23:12, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

Edit request on 2 December 2011

{{edit semi-protected}} In the James K. Polk article, it states that he was the only President who also served as the Speaker of the house. This is patently incorrect. Gerald Ford also served as Speaker of the House.

Thanks

Scott Cohen

96.224.250.6 (talk) 16:24, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

Gerald Ford was never Speaker. He was House Minority Leader. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_ford#House_Minority_Leader Ratemonth (talk) 18:54, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

 Not done  Chzz  ►  06:45, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

Pronunciation of James K. Polk's last name

My name is Keri Polk McClure and I am the 5th-great niece of former President James K. Polk. I would like to suggest that the pronunciation of his last name be changed to reflect that we do indeed pronounce the "l" in our last name. It does not sound like "poke", it sounds just like it is spelled, pōlk. I would love to see this corrected, as I take pride in being a Polk and don't want to see our name mis-pronounced for eternity. LOL!!! Thank you for your efforts; I, along with the rest of the Polks, appreciate it! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.59.71.18 (talk) 17:50, 9 May 2012 (UTC)

Re the pronouncin' guide that tops the lede; I question its 'fact-ness', to wit: 1) What does it mean, or explain, to the reader?; 2) Is this meaning citable to a reliable, authorative source?. I will delete in a few days if a suitable cite is not offered.//Jbeans (talk) 05:34, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

Some may indeed pronounce the l in Polk these days, but the President himself, and all his contemporaries, pronounced it as "poke." I think it is important to pronounce his name the way he did. Interestingly, the "poke" pronunciation gave great opportunities for the Franklin Pierce presidential campaign in 1852; one of their slogans was "we Polked you in 1844; we shall Pierce you in 1852." Pronounce the l in Polk and the slogan doesn't make sense. Lordmarmont (talk) 12:35, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Benjamin Burch

Burch is a listed as being a Tennessee representative to Congress. This is incorrect. He owned the boarding house that Polk lived in. This article is locked, so I can't fix it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.154.159.246 (talk) 16:27, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

London memorial?

Hi, I'm editing List of public art in Westminster (in London) and there's a plaque I can't identify outside the Republic of Texas's former embassy in Pickering Place, St James's – image here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/browniebear/6303845621/ A commenter there suggests that the man portrayed is Polk. Can anyone confirm this with a citation, ideally giving the sculptor's name and/or the date? If so I'd be really grateful, as I'd like to bring the list up to featured status. Thank you! Ham 18:40, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

I believe this to be Lord Palmerston (Henry John Temple, the third Viscount Palmerston) who served as Prime Minister of Britain twice in the 19th century. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_John_Temple,_3rd_Viscount_Palmerston#Death and http://www.flickr.com/photos/victorianlondon/5606084396/ and http://www.radiotaxis.co.uk/london-s-smallest-square/ Roberterubin (talk) 07:02, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for your help! :) I've added the plaque to the page as a portrayal of Palmerston. Ham 05:55, 3 June 2012 (UTC)

"Obituary" external link

Propose that this link be removed. It is not an obituary, but a vulgar note welcoming his death by an abolitionist. Roberterubin (talk) 00:59, 1 June 2012 (UTC)

It is an obituary of sorts. I changed the description to better describe the link. Your thoughts, please? Regards, --Manway 02:43, 1 June 2012 (UTC)

That's certainly better, but if you want to reference it, I suggest Instead noting in the main body of the article the strong feelings against Polk based on his reluctance to do anything about slavery, at which point this can be cited as a footnote. Because it is much more a condemnation based on that perceived failure than anything else - and certainly not an obituary in any meaningful sense of that word. Thanks, Roberterubin (talk) 05:39, 1 June 2012 (UTC)

Only president not to run for re-election

Ok, I know that some presidents died in office, and others ran for "re-election" after having inherited the presidency (e.g. both Johnsons, T. Roosevelt, Ford). Is Polk the only president who chose not to run for election after having served some amount of time as president (full or partial term)? In other words, was he the only president who was still alive at the end of his first term and attempt to be elected to another? Tad Lincoln (talk) 06:14, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

29th and 30th Congresses: Errors

The statements made on the James Polk page about the partisan composition of these two Congresses (the section referred by link 4.10 at the top) simply do not match those made in the articles about the 29th and 30th Congresses. They're also flat-out wrong: for example I don't know how we get 63 Senators (an odd number?) in a 29th Congress returned with Polk in 1844 and admitting the 29th state (Iowa, Dec. 28, 1846).

I suggest that only the links to the main articles about the two Congresses be preserved, and that all other information about these Congresses be deleted from that section. Less is more here.

That way, there is one definitive place to maintain information about the Congresses - there is nothing that ever can be out of sync. Having comprehensive, accurate information on a main page and inaccurate fragments of information on some other page, when a simple link to the main page would better serve, totally defeats the purpose of Wikipedia. The article is about President Polk; it can contain information about his interactions with Congress, but details about Congress should be by external reference. Don't split the difference here: preserve the links and ax all else in that section.

I also suggest that this be the policy for all Presidents - that the contents of sections about the compositions of contemporaneous Congresses be standardized to consist only of a series of links. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.173.232.238 (talk) 17:43, 10 March 2013 (UTC)

Presidency edit request

Please add an image of the White House as it looked in 1846. Do so by adding [[File:White House 1846.jpg]] (thumb|The White House in 1846) after [[File:Polk proclamation.gif]] (thumb|upright|Polk's presidential proclamation of war against Mexico), under the section on his presidency. As illustrated, also add upright as the size for the existing proclamation image.

It should look something like the following. Thanks in advance. 67.100.127.72 (talk) 06:10, 11 June 2013 (UTC)

Question: Why? There are already many images in this article, and (at least on my screen) there's no room to add another one down the right side without displacing other images further down. The article says nothing about Polk having anything special to do with the White House beyond living there. --ElHef (Meep?) 15:26, 11 June 2013 (UTC)

Presidency (1845–1849)

Polk's presidential proclamation of war against Mexico.

The White House in 1846.

Calculation

""8,000 acres (32 km²)"" What a nonsense! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.183.96.216 (talk) 18:47, 11 July 2013 (UTC)

Entire Introduction is Polkwank and nothing but

There are all of two citations in the introductory section. Considering that the intro has such phrases as "last strong pre–Civil War president" and "Scholars have ranked him favorably on the list of greatest presidents for his ability to set an agenda and achieve all of it", I would expect some solid citations. The first citation is his birth date and location. The second refers to a single article on The Daily Beast. The entire introduction, bar those two marginal notes, is unsourced. 96.54.86.78 (talk) 05:09, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

the general rule in Wikipedia is that the lead paragraph is not footnoted but is a summary of the article. In this case the article is very well footnoted. Rjensen (talk) 08:38, 18 January 2014 (UTC)