James Polk Timeline: Presidential Timeline of Important Events |
| 1845 | His inauguration as 11th President of the United States on March 4, 1845 |
| 1845 | John Tyler had preempted James Polk by presenting the bill to annex Texas on March 1, 1845. Texans eventually approved of the bill which was signed by President Polk on December 29, 1845, accepting Texas as the 28th state of the Union. |
| 1845 | The US Naval Academy was opened at Annapolis, Maryland |
| 1845 | Journalist John L. O'Sullivan first used the phrase 'Manifest Destiny' to describe the belief that American settlers were destined to expand across the North American continent - referred to as Westward Expansion |
| 1845 | The Great Irish Potato Famine led to the death of over 1 million people in Ireland the emigration of another million people from Ireland to the New World |
| 1845 | December 29, 1845: Texas was admitted to the Union as a slave state |
| 1846 | The Mormon migration to Utah when Brigham Young, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the first governor of the Utah Territory, led 148 Mormons to Utah to escape religious persecution |
| 1846 | April 25, 1846 – February 2, 1848: The Mexican-American War begins as Congress declares war following the attack by Mexican troops in disputed territory north of the Rio Grande |
| 1846 | The Independent Treasury Act of August 1846, first initiated by Martin Van Buren, was finally passed establishing the system for retaining government funds in the United States Treasury and its sub-treasuries |
| 1846 | The California Republic and the Bear Flag Revolt was led by Juan Alvarado and Isaac Graham, was a rebellion by American settlers in the Mexican territory of Alta California against Mexico and led to the acquisition of California. |
| 1846 | The 1846 Oregon Treaty was signed by the US and Great Britain resolving the dispute over possession of the lands extending from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and establishing the 49th parallel |
| 1846 | The Wilmot Proviso, 1846 over the question of whether the lands from Mexico and Oregon should be free soil or slave soil |
| 1846 | The Walker Tariff of 1846 was implemented to stimulate trade reducing tariff rates from 32% to 25% |
| 1846 | The Elias Howe Sewing Machine was invented |
| 1846 | The Navajo conflicts (1846 - 1863) began in New Mexico and Arizona and eventually led to their forced occupancy of an uninviting reservation |
| 1846 | The establishment of the independent US treasury |
| 1846 | The Anti-Slavery Free Soil Party was created |
| 1848 | Gold was discovered in California starting the California gold rush |
| 1848 | A Women’s Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York |
| 1848 | France abolishes slavery in its West Indies colonies |
| 1848 | February 2, 1848: The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War giving the US control over California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. |
| 1848 | The Cayuse War (1848–1855) erupted in the North western United States and saw the influx of disease and settlers to Oregon |
| 1849 | The first conflicts of the Apache Wars (1849 -1924) erupted in the Southwest |
| 1849 | His presidency and term in office ends. The next US President was Zachary Taylor |
James K Polk Timeline of important Events |