James Knox Polk was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the Speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and Governor of Tennessee (1839–1841). A protégé of Andrew Jackson, he was a member of the Democratic Party and an advocate of Jacksonian democracy. These James K Polk quotes will motivate you.
Best James K Polk Quotes
- “We must ever mandate the principle that the people of this continent alone have the right to decide their own destiny.” ~ James K. Polk
- “No president who performs his duties faithfully and conscientiously can have any leisure.” ~ James K. Polk
- “There are four great measures for my administration – a reduction of tariff, an independent treasury, settlement of the Oregon boundary and acquisition of California.” ~ James K. Polk
- “One great object of the Constitution was to restrain majorities from oppressing minorities or encroaching upon their just rights.” ~ James K. Polk
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“Thank God, under our Constitution, there was no connection between church and state.” ~ James K. Polk
- “All distinctions of birth or of rank have been abolished. All citizens, whether native or adopted, are placed upon terms of precise equality. All are entitled to equal rights and equal protection.” ~ James K. Polk
- “Under the blessings of Divine Providence… It becomes us, in humility, to make our devout acknowledgments to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, for the inestimable civil and religious blessings with which we are favored.” ~ James K. Polk
- “It is confidently believed that our system may be safely extended to the utmost bounds of our territorial limits.” ~ James K. Polk
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“With me it is exceptionally true that the Presidency is no bed of roses.” ~ James K. Polk
- “I cannot, whilst President of the United States, descend to enter into a newspaper controversy.” ~ James K. Polk
- “Peace, plenty, and contentment reign throughout our borders, and our beloved country presents a sublime moral spectacle to the world.” ~ James K. Polk
- “The Presidency is not a bed of roses.” ~ James K. Polk
- “There is more selfishness and less principle among members of Congress than I had any conception of, before I became President of the U.S.” ~ James K. Polk
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“Foreign powers do not seem to appreciate the true character of our government.” ~ James K. Polk
- “The gratitude … should be commensurate with the boundless blessings which we enjoy.” ~ James K. Polk
- “If a man . . . would shake and not be shaken, grip and not be gripped, taking care always to squeeze the hand of his adversary as hard as it squeezed him, then he suffered no inconvenience from it.” ~ James K. Polk Quotes
- “Although in our country the Chief Magistrate must almost of necessity be chosen by a party and stand pledged to its principles and measures, yet in his official action he should not be the President of a part only, but of the whole people of the United States.” ~ James K. Polk
- “No president who performs his duties faithfully and conscientiously can have any leisure. If he entrusts the details and smaller matters to subordinates constant errors will occur. I prefer to supervise the whole operations of the government myself rather than entrust the public business to subordinates, and this makes my duties very great.” ~ James K. Polk
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“The world has nothing to fear from military ambition in our Government.” ~ James K. Polk
- “No union exists between church and state, and perfect freedom of opinion is guaranteed to all sects and creeds.” ~ James K. Polk
- “The Constitution itself, plainly written as it is, the safeguard of our federative compact, the offspring of concession and compromise, binding together in the bonds of peace and union this great and increasing family of free and independent States, will be the chart by which I shall be directed.” ~ James K. Polk
- “Under the benignant providence of Almighty God the representatives of the States and of the people are again brought together to deliberate for the public good. The gratitude of the nation to the sovereign arbiter of all human events should be commensurate with the boundless blessings which we enjoy. Peace, plenty, and contentment reign throughout our borders, and our beloved country presents a sublime moral spectacle to the world.” ~ James K. Polk
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“Minorities have a right to appeal to the Constitution as a shield against such oppression.” ~ James K. Polk
- “When I observed a strong man approaching I generally took advantage of him by being a little quicker than he was and seizing him by the tip of the fingers, giving him a hearty shake, and thus preventing him from getting a full grip upon me.” ~ James K. Polk
- “The passion for office among members of Congress is very great, if not absolutely disreputable, and greatly embarrasses the operations of the Government. They create offices by their own votes and then seek to fill them themselves.” ~ James K. Polk
- “General Taylor is, I have no doubt, a well-meaning old man. He is, however, uneducated, exceedingly ignorant of public affairs, and I should judge, of very ordinary capacity.” ~ James K. Polk
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“I love you Sarah. For all eternity, I love you.” ~ James K. Polk
- “I am heartily rejoiced that my term is so near its close. I will soon cease to be a servant and will become a sovereign.” ~ James K. Polk
- “Under the benignant providence of Almighty God the representatives of the States and of the people are again brought together to deliberate for the public good.” ~ James K. Polk
- “Public opinion: May it always perform one of its appropriate offices, by teaching the public functionaries of the State and of the Federal Government, that neither shall assume the exercise of powers entrusted by the Constitution to the other.” ~ James K. Polk
- “Thank God, under our Constitution there was no connection between Church and State, and that in my action as President of the United States I recognized no distinction of creeds in my appointments office.” ~ James K. Polk
