James Polk U.S. Naval Academy

James Polk U.S. Naval Academy

President James Polk was a hard working strong U.S. President. He was considered the last of the “Jacksonian Presidents” and often is considered the last of the strong presidents until the Civil War and President Lincoln.

While Andrew Jackson himself was a fiery and intense person, President James Polk was marked by a quiet, intense pursuit of goals and beliefs that set him apart from his mentor, Andrew Jackson.

Polk was an excellent student in College, and graduated with honors in 1818 from the University of North Carolina. During his Presidency, he accomplished many things, some of which he is best known for are the expansion of the Oregon Territory and the purchase of what is now the South Western part of the United States from Mexico, ending the Mexican American War.

One of the things President James Polk was also known for was helping to establish the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.  The Naval Academy was founded by the Secretary of the Navy, George Bancroft.

President James Polk was a friend of his Secretary of the Navy, and when he sought to open a formal training academy on land to train officers to serve in the United States Navy President Polk gave him his full support and encouragement.

The Secretary of the Navy had a son that served in the Navy, that allegedly was part of an attempted mutiny at sea. After the mutiny was thwarted, his son was executed for his part in the mutiny. The Secretary of the Navy was very angry, and so he pushed for the establishment of a formal training program to train officers to serve on the vessels in the United States Navy.

The U.S Naval Academy sits on the site of the former U.S. Army post Fort Severn, and has been in existence since 1845, when President James Polk supported Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft in the establishment of the Academy.

President Polk signed into law the bill that established the U.S. Naval Academy in 1845, and it has worked to train and graduate U.S. military Naval Officers and Marine Corps Officers since that time.