Non-fiction: Second Annual Message to Congress (1846)

Overview
James K. Polk’s Second Annual Message to Congress surveys a year of sweeping expansion and conflict, pairing a defense of ongoing war with Mexico with claims of diplomatic restraint and constitutional rigor at home. He presents the administration’s agenda as a coherent program: settle long-standing boundary disputes, secure the Pacific, reform the nation’s fiscal machinery, and channel economic growth through lower tariffs and freer trade, all while insisting on limited federal roles in internal improvements.

War with Mexico
Polk depicts the Mexican-American War as a just and necessary response to Mexican aggression after the annexation of Texas. He reiterates that the Rio Grande is the rightful boundary of Texas, asserts that Mexico “invaded our territory and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil,” and recounts the failed diplomatic overture rebuffed by Mexico. The message catalogs early U.S. successes, Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma on the Rio Grande, the capture of Monterrey in the north, the bloodless occupation of New Mexico by General Kearny, and the securing of California’s principal ports by the Pacific squadron. In the Gulf, the navy’s blockade and the seizure of Tampico underscore American command of the seas.

While praising volunteer valor and professional leadership, Polk frames military vigor as the surest path to peace. He argues that Mexico’s insolvency makes territorial indemnity more realistic than monetary payment, and asks Congress for the men, money, and legal authorities needed to prosecute the war to a “just and honorable” settlement that will secure a stable boundary and American interests on the Pacific.

Oregon Settlement
Balancing war in the south, Polk highlights the peaceful resolution of the Oregon dispute with Great Britain. The 1846 treaty fixes the boundary at the forty-ninth parallel to the Strait of Georgia, preserving peace and opening the way for orderly settlement. Polk defends the compromise as consistent with long-standing American offers and as a prudent avoidance of a two-front crisis, claiming both honor and advantage in the outcome.

Finance, Trade, and the Treasury
Polk celebrates two fiscal pillars. First, the Independent Treasury, restored in 1846, severs public funds from private banks, promising safety, accountability, and insulation from speculative cycles. Second, the Walker Tariff lowers and simplifies duties, recasting customs as a revenue, not protective, instrument. He predicts that lower rates will expand imports, bolster exports, and, paradoxically, sustain or increase receipts through a broadening tax base. The new warehousing system, allowing goods to be stored without immediate duty, is presented as a lubricant for commerce. He reports that public credit remains sound, that wartime loans have been placed on favorable terms, and that the fiscal apparatus can support the conflict without crippling the economy.

Army, Navy, and the Frontier
Polk urges Congress to strengthen the regular army for the duration of the war while acknowledging the indispensable service of volunteers. He commends naval officers for decisive actions on both oceans and emphasizes the strategic value of a modern fleet in blockading ports and projecting power to distant coasts. On the frontier, he notes efforts to maintain peace with Native nations, protect emigration routes to Oregon, and secure the southwestern borderlands unsettled by the conflict.

Public Lands, Improvements, and Institutions
The message reaffirms support for preemption and a humane, orderly disposition of the public domain to actual settlers. Polk cautions against federally funded local internal improvements, urging constitutional restraint while recognizing national responsibilities for harbors, rivers, and coastal surveys tied to commerce and defense. He reports progress in the Coast Survey and in lighthouse construction. He also marks the organization of the Smithsonian Institution, funded by the Smithson bequest, as a milestone in advancing knowledge, calling for careful stewardship to maximize scientific and educational benefit.

Policy Throughline
Across foreign policy, war management, and domestic reform, Polk’s throughline is assertive expansion under legal forms, disciplined public finance, and a preference for revenue-based trade policy. The message invites Congress to sustain the war effort, consolidate diplomatic gains, and equip the republic, fiscally, militarily, and institutionally, for an era of continental reach.