James K. Polk was elected 11th president of the United States in 1845, following a career as congressman and governor of Tennessee. He was a firm believer in "Manifest Destiny", that it was God's will for the U.S. to expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Following this belief, he was responsible for adding Texas and the land that would become Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, New Mexico, Utah, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming to...