Non-fiction: Third Annual Message to Congress (1847)

Overview
President James K. Polk’s Third Annual Message to Congress, delivered in December 1847, centers on the conduct, justification, and aims of the Mexican-American War while surveying the nation’s finances, foreign relations, territorial administration, and general prosperity. Polk frames the conflict as a defensive war forced upon the United States by Mexico, reiterates that Congress had duly recognized a state of war, and argues that national honor and security require a decisive peace that provides adequate indemnity for past injuries and the costs of the conflict.

The War with Mexico
Polk recounts major campaigns and victories that transformed the war’s trajectory in 1847. He praises General Zachary Taylor’s earlier successes in the north and his stand at Buena Vista, and he highlights General Winfield Scott’s amphibious landing at Veracruz and subsequent inland campaign, culminating in the capture of Mexico City after a string of battles at Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec. He stresses the discipline and valor of regulars, volunteers, and the navy’s blockade and coastal operations, noting the humane conduct of American forces in occupied areas.

Peace and Territorial Indemnity
The message insists that the United States has consistently sought an honorable peace. Polk had dispatched a commissioner to accompany the army and open negotiations after key victories; an armistice was attempted but collapsed over Mexican intransigence. Concluding that Mexico’s unstable government could not be relied upon to negotiate faithfully, Polk recalls the commissioner and tells Congress that any treaty must secure the Rio Grande boundary and provide indemnity, principally through territorial cessions, adequate to settle claims and defray war expenses. He presents the acquisition of New Mexico and Upper California as a reasonable and necessary means to secure peace, expand commerce, and safeguard the Pacific frontier.

Territories and Civil Administration
Polk describes the occupation of New Mexico and California, where military authorities established provisional civil rule to protect persons and property, maintain order, and collect customs under schedules harmonized with U.S. tariff law. He urges Congress to provide the legal framework and appropriations needed to sustain governance and to prepare for eventual organization once a peace treaty defines boundaries. He also recommends establishing a territorial government in Oregon, following the amicable 1846 boundary settlement with Great Britain at the forty-ninth parallel.

Finance, Revenue, and the Economy
Polk defends the fiscal management of the war. He reports that the Independent Treasury has functioned well, preserving specie discipline and insulating public funds, and that the revenue system, reformed by the 1846 tariff, has increased commerce and produced steady receipts, though loans and Treasury notes remain necessary to meet extraordinary war expenditures. He renews support for the warehousing system, preemption rights for settlers, and the graduation of public land prices, all intended to align policy with settlement and economic growth. He cautions against federally funded internal improvements of a local character as unconstitutional and fiscally imprudent.

Foreign Relations and Naval Affairs
Outside the war, Polk notes generally peaceful and productive relations, citing the settled Oregon boundary and expanding trade with Europe, the Pacific, and China. He emphasizes the navy’s effectiveness in maintaining blockades, protecting commerce, and supporting operations on both coasts of Mexico, and he calls for continued support to keep the fleets fit for extended service far from home ports.

Army, Volunteers, and Public Credit
The message commends the volunteers and regulars for endurance and bravery, asks Congress to provide additional forces and replacements to garrison conquered territory and sustain operations, and underscores the importance of timely appropriations to uphold public credit. Polk portrays the nation as prosperous overall, with agriculture, manufacturing, and trade strengthened by the revenue system, even as the government shoulders the temporary burdens of war.

Policy Aim
Polk’s overarching objective is a negotiated peace that secures the nation’s honor, establishes a stable boundary, and obtains territorial indemnity commensurate with the conflict’s costs, while maintaining constitutional fiscal principles, expanding lawful commerce, and ensuring orderly civil administration in occupied and emerging territories.