Merry, Robert W.,  1946- <br/><br/>
A country of vast designs :  James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the conquest of the American continent / 
 James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the conquest of the American continent 
Robert W. Merry. 
 - 1st Simon & Schuster hardcover ed. 
 - New York :  Simon & Schuster,  c2009. 
 - x, 576 p., [16] p. of plates :  ill., map, ports. ;  25 cm. 
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographical references (p. 479-550) and index. 
<br/><br/>Introduction: Ritual of democracy: the emergence of an expansionist president -- Young Hickory: the making of a Jackson protègè -- Tennessee and Washington: the rise and fall of a presidential loyalist -- The 1844 election: searching for a means of political recovery -- Texas: dawn of a new era -- Polk vs. Clay: answering the question, "Who is James K. Polk?" -- The victor: preparing for the mantle of leadership -- Taking charge: America's zest for grand ambitions -- Annexation complete: diplomacy, intrigue, and the force of politics -- The United States and Oregon: "The people here are worn out by delay" -- The United States and Mexico: divergent new world cultures on a path to war -- Britain and Mexico: playing with prospects of a dual war -- The Twenty-ninth Congress: Polk takes command of the national agenda -- End of a treaty: diplomacy and politics at war with each other -- War: "Every consideration of duty and patriotism" -- Vagaries of war: "And may there be no recreant soul to fail or falter now" -- Presidential temperament: "I prefer to supervise the whole operations of the government" -- Wilmot's proviso: transformation of the war debate -- The war in the West: patriotism, duty, adventure, and glory -- The new face of war: "We are yet to have a long and wearisome struggle" -- The politics of rancor: constitutional usurpation vs. moral treason -- Dilatory Congress: the challenge of presidential leadership -- Veracruz and beyond: grappling with Mexico's military defiance -- Scott and Trist: a clash of policy and temperament -- Mexico City: the pivot of personality -- The specter of conquest: "Have we conquered peace? Have we obtained a treaty?" -- Treaty: from Trist to Polk to the Senate -- Peace: California, New Mexico, and the Union -- Final months: "Solemnly impressed with the... emptiness of worldly honors" -- Epilogue: Legacy: the price of presidential accomplishment. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>9780743297431 0743297431 
<br/><br/><label>LCCN: </label>2009024131 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Personal Names: </label><br/>Polk, James K. 1795-1849. 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Presidents--United States--Biography.
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Geographic Terms: </label><br/>United States--Politics and government--1845-1849.<br/>United States--Territorial expansion--History--19th century.
<br/><br/><label>LC Class. No.: </label>E417  / .M1153 2009