William Hawkins Polk

William Hawkins Polk (born May 24, 1815 in Maury County , Tennessee , †  December 16, 1862 in Nashville , Tennessee) was an American politician . Between 1851 and 1853 he represented the state of Tennessee in the US House of Representatives .

Career

William Polk was the younger brother of US President James K. Polk by 20 years . He attended the city schools in Columbia and then studied until 1833 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . He then continued his education at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville . After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1839, he began to work in Columbia in his new profession. At the same time he embarked on a political career.

Between 1842 and 1845, Polk was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives . From 1845 to 1847 he was the American envoy to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies . He then served as a major in a dragoon unit during the final stages of the Mexican-American War . In the congressional elections of 1850 Polk was elected as an independent Democrat in the sixth constituency of Tennessee to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he succeeded James Houston Thomas on March 4, 1851 . Until March 3, 1853 he was able to complete a legislative period in Congress . This was already determined by the tensions in the run-up to the civil war . The main point of contention at the time was the question of slavery .

After leaving the US House of Representatives, William Polk returned to work as a lawyer. He died in Nashville on December 16, 1862 and was buried in Columbia.

Web links

• William Hawkins Polk in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• William Hawkins Polk in the database of Find a Grave (English)