A Country of Vast Designs - Presidential Biography Bestseller by Robert W Merry Paperback

About the Book

Merry examines how, in a one-term presidency, James K. Polk completed the story of America's Manifest Destiny by expanding its territory across the continent.

Book Synopsis

President James K. Polk, often overlooked yet ever-consequential, comes to life in this "compelling, perceptive" (The Wall Street Journal) biography of the 11th President of the United States, Andrew Jackson's protégé, and champion of "manifest destiny."

When James K. Polk was elected president in 1844, the United States was locked in a bitter diplomatic struggle with Britain over which country would inherit the rich lands of the Oregon Territory. Texas, not yet part of the Union, was beset by hostile pressures from a more powerful Mexico. The great lands west of Texas--including what would become California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico--belonged to Mexico. Four years later, when Polk relinquished power, the country had grown by half. Oregon belonged to the United States, as did Texas and all the lands to the west stretching to the Pacific. In bringing this about, Polk expended huge quantities of political capital through bold and often divisive decision making.

This is the dramatic narrative of that grand national ambition that went by the name of Manifest Destiny--the idea that it was America's fate to emerge as the greatest power of the Americas, with consolidated territory that stretched from sea to sea and with a capacity to project influence forcefully toward both Europe and Asia. This national dream and ambition turned out to be bigger than any man or any party or ideological outlook that took its place in the national debates of the time.

Told through the towering figures of that time--such as the outgoing president John Tyler and Polk's great mentor, Andrew Jackson--A Country of Vast Designs captures the enormity of this national dream and provides profound insight into this era in America's history.

Review Quotes

"[Merry] brings a historian's perspective, a journalist's nose for the story and a novelist's eye to one of our country's most dramatic and defining moments. In strong, precise and elegant prose, Mr. Merry brings the key players of the day to life in terms of both personal characteristics and the causes they personified."
--Washingtonian

"Filled with intricate stories of personal conflict, psychological gamesmanship, and unintended consequences. . . one of the most astute and informative historical accounts yet written about national politics, and especially Washington politics, during the decisive 1840s."

--The New York Times Book Review

"Polk was our most underrated President. He made the United States into a continental nation. Bob Merry captures the controversial and the visionary aspects of his presidency in a colorful narrative tale populated by great characters such as Jackson, Clay, and Can Buren."

-Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein: His Life and Universe

"Robert Merry's authoritative biography of James K. Polk. . . provides a compelling, perceptive portrait. . . Merry joins his skill at portraiture to thorough scholarship and a shrewd grasp of human nature."

-The Wall Street Journal