U.S. presidential election, 1844
Summary
President John Tyler, abandoned by his native Democratic party and despised by his adopted Whigs, failed to be nominated for re-election.
On their 9th ballot, Democrats nominated the first "dark horse" candidate, James Knox Polk after former President Martin Van Buren lost support due to his opposition to the annexation of Texas. This position was seen as unacceptable by southern delegates.
When advised of his nomination via letter, Polk replied: "It has been well observed that the office of President of the United States should neither be sought nor declined. I have never sought it, nor should I feel at liberty to decline it, if conferred upon me by the voluntary suffrages of my fellow citizens."
The Whig Party chose Henry Clay of Kentucky, who eight years earlier had been defeated by Martin Van Buren as the National Republican candidate. The Whigs played on Polk's comparative obscurity, asking "Who is James K. Polk?" as part of their campaign to get Clay elected.
Another candidate in the 1844 campaign was Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Church of Jesus Chris of Latter-day Saints, who intended to run with Sidney Rigdon as his running mate. The effort was aborted when Smith was murdered on June 27, 1844.
Polk campaigned vigorously, surprising many with his stalwart support of westward expansion, an issue Clay and others attempted to deflect. In the end, Polk's boldness paid off with his election on November 5, 1844, garnering 170 electoral votes to Clay's 105.
Despite his relative obscurity, historians today see James Polk as one of America's best Presidents. In his four years in office (he refused to seek re-election), he accomplished every major goal he had established during the 1844 campaign.
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President of the United States, U.S. presidential election, 1844, History of the United States (1776-1865)
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