Inauguration of James K. Polk

Presidential inauguration of
James K. Polk

Sketch of ceremony in The Illustrated London News.
Date	March 4, 1845 (1845-03-04)
Location	United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Participants	James K. Polk 11th president of the United States — Assuming office Roger Taney Chief Justice of the United States — Administering oath George M. Dallas 11th vice president of the United States — Assuming office Willie Person Mangum President pro tempore of the United States Senate — Administering oath

The inauguration of James K. Polk as the 11th president of the United States took place on Tuesday, March 4, 1845, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Polk began his journey to the nation’s capital in late January from his home state of Tennessee. Along the way he stopped at The Hermitage for what was to be the final visit with former President Jackson before he died later that year. No account exists of what was discussed at the meeting, however Polk was widely seen as Jackson’s political heir and was nicknamed “Young Hickory”. His administration would go on to add the most territory for the United States as Polk aggressively pursued the Manifest Destiny policies of the Jacksonian era.

This was the 15th inauguration and marked the commencement of the only four-year term of both James K. Polk as president and George M. Dallas as vice president. Polk was sworn in by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. This was the first inaugural ceremony to be reported by telegraph and to be shown in a newspaper illustration; it appeared in The Illustrated London News.

Gallery

• 
  Polk inauguration Approach London News
• 
  A commemorative print published after the inauguration of President James K. Polk. The design incorporates oval bust portraits of the eleven Presidents arranged in an oval with Washington in the center and Polk at the bottom
• 
  James Polk's 1845 "pure Democrats" inaugural ball at the National Theatre, from Perley's Reminiscences of Sixty Years in the National Metropolis, 1886

See also

• Presidency of James K. Polk
• 1844 United States presidential election

External links

• More documents from the Library of Congress
• Text of Polk's Inaugural Address