That professor aaron mason recently informed me that he will not be here and making a presentation, and, therefore, you should expect to hear three presentations instead of four. I trust that this may make sure that we have enough time for audience questions and participation at the end, which is a minor benefit from not getting to hear professor masons presentation. So well still try to use our 90 minutes effectively. All of the presenters have had to cut their presentations in order to fit our session. All of the presentations represent work in progress, which is exciting. Our speakers will present in the order in which they appear on your program, beginning with Michael Gunther. Professor Michael Gunther hails from historic lake george, new york. He earned his ph. D. In history in 2010. He is current professor of history at georgia gwinnett college, a fouryear institution in the suburbs of atlanta. Dr. Gunther recently published a journal article on the bordering of quebec in the 1760s in essays in history. He is one of the small but growing number of scholars who study the environmental impacts of warfare in American HistoryRalph Waldo Emersons dose of arsenic, henry david therouxs civil disobedience in his call for parks across the United States, George Perkins marshs concerns about deforestation and soil erosion, these are some of the topics that have excited historical authorities over the years. There doesnt seem to be much attention to the actual president s and politicians and politics in the antebellum years. I was interested in exploring that with you today. On august 10, 1846, at the ends of the first session of the 29th congress, president polk signed into law a bill creating the Smithsonian Institution. This fulfilled the bequest of englishman james smithson, who left a substantial sum of money, quote, to found at washington an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge, end quote. There was some opposition in congress as well as protracted debate over the functions of this body. In short time though activities would include scientific research, publications and a collection of curiosities and Natural History specimens from throughout the nation. Explorers would contribute to fulfill this aim. On the same day nearly 2,000 miles to the west, lieutenant william emory, chief engineer in steven carneys army of the west, made observations of latitude and altitude along the cimaron river east of taos in northern new mexico. The u. S. mexican war had started and the army had entered mexican territory. On this day mexican spies and an american traitor brought news into carneys camp of new mexico governors activities to resist american invasion. Emory fell asleep that night between mountains covered by cedar and pinon trees and rocky plains to the east, a veritable border land on the precipice of dramatic change. Back east president polk fumed as his attempt to gain from congress 2 million to restart relations mexico failed. The west, including new mexico, would from this point play a central role in debates over slavery in the capital of the american entire of liberty. Could reason and science aid in achieving military victories and perhaps ameliorating partisan passions . It is probably unanswerable within our time limitations today, but it is to me alluring. During debates on the smithsonian bill, Jefferson Davis of mississippi claimed, quote, knowledge was the common cement that was to unite all of the heterogeneous materials of this union into one mass. This may be surprising to hear coming from the future president of the confederacy. Before davis left to fight in the mexican war, the House Select Committee on the smithsonian included many though were strange bed fellows. I have come across these names and events many sometimes when teaching American History, American Military history, American Environmental history. My research in the 18th century focuses on the environmental dimensions of warfare as dr. Howe said in new york. Following william crone, and i employ the term military ecology, which i take to mean the impact of the environment on officers and soldiers involved in operational planning, Logistical Support and tactics, but also in turn the impact of the warfare of warfare on the environment. So that is my larger project. Im talking about the smithsonian and the department of the interior today. Im excited to get feedback and to see if people here think it is a worth while project. In revolutionary and ante Bellum America engineers like emory produced many useful primary source maps and journals. The involvement of emory and others in describing and mapping western lands long predates the mexican war. We think of lewis and clark for example. Territorial acquisitions prompted efforts to obtain useful knowledge about terrain, minerals, flora and fauna and, of course, native americans. The u. S. Military academy emphasized engineering in its curriculum and helped towards this end. In 1838 the Army Topographical core was enlarged and created as an entity separate from the corps of engineers. This was recollected when polk was House Speaker in the 1830s because, quote, we are still lamentably ignorant of the geography and resources of our country. Points added in the founding of the National Institute of promotion of science, a body that would help shape the smithsonian in the future. It worked with the Patent Office to create a make schiff repository for american inventions and Natural History specimens. Despite the partys commitment to limited government and strict construction of the koouns, it was pointed to patronizing science and exploration in the age of jackson. What of polk t reason were gathered here today . The editors of his paper state that polk, quote, had scant intellectual curiosity about the region of the west. He was singleminded and startlingly efficient as a wartime chief executive but you could be petty and partisan in his relationships with wig generals, for example. He had pledged in 1844 to complete the work of annexing texas. But the end of his administration, as dr. Howe has reminded us, counting texas, core gon, california and new mexico, he extended the domain of the United States more than any other president. I am interested in his views on science and exploration, but in the available electronic versions of his diary and correspondence where you can do word searches there are few occurrences of key words like science or topography smithsonian or railroads which is surprising. More disquieting is his veto of improvement bills which can be traced back to the bill in 1830. He vetoed harbors bills in 1846 and 1847 and was prepared in the last days of his presidency in 1849 to do likewise if the 30th Congress Passed another one. Like madison, monroe and jackson before him, polk did not reject internal improvements per se, claiming the projects wholly national in scope were legitimate, while those local in scope would need to be funded at the state level. In the absence of a constitutional amendment conferring that power onning could. His warning in his veto messages about sectional jealousy, corruption in politics, quote, increased taxation and a National Debt never to be extinguished, end quote, suggests he might not have welcomed such an amendment. However, in light of the long view of history, there remained the origins the issue of origins and legacy. My research considers the role of polk and other participants, democrats and wigs in congress, scientists, military officers, and the expansion of the federal governments environmental footprint. As i said at the outset, when covering the half century between jefferson and lincoln, environmental historians tend not to focus on the president s. This paper charts a trail toward an environmental history of the polk years. Both the Smithsonian Institution and the interior department would evolve into significant custodians, interpreters and shapers of national landscapes. In one of the veto messages to which i referred, president polk cited a proposal in the Constitutional Convention for a secretary of domestic affairs. As polk icily summarized, quote, it was referred to a committee, and that appears to have been the end of it. And yet in one of his last moments as president while carrying his prewritten veto message for an internal improvements bill that never came to be, he signed into law a bill creating the department of interior or home department. His diary entry reflecting on this action, written weeks later in retirement, records his, quote, objections on the ground of expediency, but not on constitutionality. He did, quote, fear its consolidating tendency. He was already declining, i think, and he wanted posterity to know his doubts. His views on Land Management remain complicated, thus the reference in my paper title to a later Robert Sherwood quote about the thickly forested interior. Whether polk could foresee a future where the federal government would engage in massive Water Conservation projects like hoover dam or preserving vast territories Like Grand Canyon National Park from the free market is thus a murky but not moot question. If he had paid attention to the final debate in the senate on march 3, 1849, on the act to establish the home department, he would have read senator john c. Calhouns prediction that, quote, everything upon the face of gods earth will go into the home department. This thing ought not to be. This is a monstrous bill. It is ominous. One of the greatest steps that has ever been made in my time to absorb all tv remaining powers of the states, and quote. He said it in direct response to Jefferson Davis who supported the bill. Looking back, one would expect the smithsonian and interior bills to have been wig measures because of their incipient nationalizing tendencies, but prominent democrats either defended or in polks case at least signed the legislation in question. I had a powerpoint today. I had some interesting images i wanted to show you for the next point, but thats fine. I will try and describe it. One explanation for this that can be inferred in my view but not proven involves evidence of personal relationships. In the 1840s there emerged Small Networks of influential men, scientists associated with the National Institution and later the smithsonian and topographical engineers in the army with access to wig and democratic politicians and who could through publications and maps reach a wider public. Through some of the men and wives and daughters, there were intimate ties of party and friendship that crossed party lines. For example, an engineer from sign and superintendent of the u. S. Coast survey was the greatgrandson of benjamin franklin. His sister mary married mississippi Democrat Robert walker, polks secretary treasure. Another sister, matilda, married william emory. Another sister married the father of the chief of the topographical engineers, thus emorys because. Bates was a longtime correspondent of joseph henry, first secretary. Another correspondents included vermont wig George Perkins marsh, the proet owe environmentalist i mentioned at the out said, as well as aging eversownan politician albert gallerton. Marsh was a leading advocate for the smithsonian bill who influenced henrys sois of Spencer Baird as the first curator. Another similar note of influence that might be more familiar to you is the one that centered on thomas hart benton, the missouri democrat and champion of manifest destiny. His daughter jessie married topographical engineer john fremont who played an Important Role in california in the u. S. mexican war. Benton provided critical support for the western survey that were a model for emory and later engineers. He also supported polk in 1844, but he then broke with the administration over polks handling of fremonts Court Martial in 1847. Notwithstanding some emerging war time animosities, i think all of these men broadly supported westward expansion and scientific discovery and publication of the Natural History of the newlyobtained land. The success of topographical engineers like fremont and emory in the u. S. mexican war can be measured both in aiding military campaigns and popularizing the west in the american mind. Emorys notes of a military reconnaissance was published in 1848 with i believe 100 copies made immediately by congress but then distributed to the public where publishers could then make their own additions. And add in a new orleans newspaper in april 18th, 49 shows how quickly the reports of both emory and fremont were made available to readers for sale. The smithsonian became a venue for primary sources emanating from the explorations. Namely, an exhibit of john stanley paintings that opened in early 1852. Stanley had traveled in the army of the west, accompanying emory and helping with drawings. That being said, increased interest in the west alone cannot explain the creation of the interior department. Polks last annual message in december of 1848 amid the California Gold rush may offer a clue. He reported the explorations already made warrant the belief that the supply of 2k3w0gold is large and found at various places in an extensive district. This in and of itself, of course, sparked increased immigration. He was taking a postwar victory lap, if you will, but he did have some constructive suggestions for congress to take up, territorial governments should be organized, a branch mint, Surveyors Generals Office should be established. Continued expenditures on topographical and coastal surveys. More surprisingly polk added, measures should be adopted to preserve the mineral land, especially such as contain the Precious Metals for the use of the nate or if brought into market to separate them from the farming land and dispose of them in such a manner as to security a large return of money. This is, pardon the pun, a gold nugget for an environmental historian. I was previously unaware of his usage of the word preserve there. Perhaps not all of the new lands would in polks mind be sold as private property. Polk also called congresss attention to the need to iron out more details, namely salaries, for those individuals who would be tasked with surveying the boundary with mexico as per the treaty. This would later include emory and other engineers under the aegis of the new interior department. The other detail in the origin story of interior was the fact that polks treasury secretary Robert Walker proposed it. He anticipated the growth of land applications in the wake of the u. S. mexican war and 3w4r5e believed keeping the land office in the Treasury Department increased the likelihood of corruption. Earlier president s and politicians proposed departmental reorganization and some even suggested a department dedicated solely to internal business. The Patent Office, for example. Seems to have nothing to do with the regular diplomatic business of the state department where it had always been housed. As well, administrative overwork plagued cabinet secretaries especially during times of war. By most accounts, and effective treasury secretary, walkers words carry weight. They may have convinced polk to sign the bill, though we cant prove that. He did accompany polk on his southern tour homeward at the end of his term if thats a vote of confidence. I dont know. It is still amazing that the bill passed in the contentious 30th congress, dominated by debates over slavery and the west. Discussion of the bill was infrequent and in the senate delayed until the very end of the session, making it easy to imagine further postponement and death. In expanding the bureaucracy it looked like a wig bill, and because a wig, zachary taylor, won the election of 1848, patronage from a new department would only seem to help wigs. All of the arguments for and against the bill would have been available to polk and the public, and he was, as stated, prepared to veto other laws at that time. It was first reported in the house by ohio wig samuel venton, february 12, 1849. The House Committee on agriculture supported it. New york wig hugh white those it could help administering a more useful and informative census in 1850 and beyond. It passed on the last day of the session. In the senate it was neither a sectional nor a party line vote. In the senate the final vote was 3521, 10 democrats and 20 wigs voted yes. 24 democrats and one wig voted no. 16 senators from northern states, nine from Southern States and six from border states voted yes, while 12 senators from northern states, 11 from Southern States and two from border states voted no. By the late winter of 1849 when polk signed the interior bill into law, smithsonian secretary joseph henry had already been working for over two years. President polk had himself assisted the board of regents in selecting a site for the principle building. Youre all familiar with the castle. On may 1, 1847, we see polk at the ceremonial cornerstone laying as a mason with grand master of the district of columbia, Benjamin Brown french, who is the star of joanne freemans new book, the field of blood, which i find interesting. Henry was concerned about Construction Cost but braced himself the with notion of, quote, the integrity of the states is thought to be connected with a large building at washington. Henry visited or dined with cabinet secretaries, congressman john quincy adams, john claton, john crittendon. He attended a white house levy in 1847 where he met polk, quote, the great man who encouraged future visits. Once assured of funds and a permanent place to exhibit Natural History specimens, he went on to high an assistant and curator, Spencer Fullerton baird, who played a crucial role in the early decades of the organization. Henry hired baird in 1850, but their correspondence began in early 1847. Henry informed his wife that month, april of 1847, that the commissioner of the land office will also instruct those engaged in surveying the lands of the government to make observations on the variation of the compass so that without expending but little of the funds of the smithsonian i find i can do a good deal for the cause of american science. He persuaded the u. S. Army to cooperate with the smithsonian in reporting meteorological observations. As ahenry was a strong proponen that the smith sownon should patronize original research, he allowed Henry Schoolcraft to continue his observations on native american customs. Schoolcraft published a massive sixvolume study in the 1850s. Henry also made the smithsonian a center for lectures and scholarly publications. He solicited feedback, peer review if albert galleton, George Perkins marsh and other members of the society before publishing a study, ancient monuments of the Mississippi Valley by squire and davis. In the first volume of smithsonian contributions to nonl. What i always find interesting, George Perkins marshs later lecture in the mid 1850s on the idea of introducing camels into the american west, which caught the attention of thensecretary of war Jefferson Davis. I could go on and on. This is, as dr. Howe said, a work in frog. I work in progress. I am fascinated by the work on the u. S. Mexican Boundary commission established in 1848 but quickly transferred to interior in 1849 when it was created. I look forward to your comments and feedback. Thank you very much. Dr. Patrick pospisek teaches at grand valley state university, a public liberal arts university, in allendale, michigan, outside of grand rapids. He earned his ph. D. At perdue studying under john larson. His Research Interests focus on the antebellum old northwest territory, and his current project is a manuscript on federal mining policy in 19th century america. He is an active participant in efforts to revive, as he puts it, the study of midwestern history. He is currently serving as the treasurer of the midwestern history association. Thank you. Lets see if i can get this to work. In 1845 in its first annual address, president james k. Polk encouraged congress to end a practice dating back to 1807. That practice, the reservation and leasing of mineralrich public lands, had proven itself radically defective to polk and needed to be brought in line with the governments viewing Standard Practice of land being conveyed to market for private ownership. Polks reasons were practical. In recent years the practice of leasing yielded to the nation but onefourth of its cost. The War Department then task tw the management was the wrong agency to supervise such a program and the system produced, quote, irritation and excitement in the mineral regions, end quote. Excuse me. Can everybody in back am i hear . Youre okay. Sorry. Thats okay. Months later polk hayesened the systems demise when he noticed the law under which the policy operated was specific to mineral lands offering salt or lead, not the copper being brought to the surface on michigans Lake Superior shore. Polk ordered an immediate stop to the issuing of leases and congress followed suit by authorizing the remaining mineral lands sale. Largely forgotten today, this mining policy bears larger consequences than polks actions imply. This paper aims to make three points. First, there was a federal mining policy in first half of the 19th century, many to view the 19th century as an era of lassaiz faire. Itself, an embodiment of the enet engineer et government envisioned by the early 1790s or advocates of internal improvement supported birth notions of the federal governments particularly inadequacy to manage the nations resources, thus making way for the practices of the late 19th century. Finally, opposition to federal mining policy gave birth to a flawed but persistent interpretation of the u. S. Constitution requiring public lands to be privatized or turned over to the states. This story starts around 1807. That Year Congress authorized the president to release all salient or lead mines to lease. Four years earlier it was called for the leasing of salt springs for the benefit of western settlers. These reasons combined with the needs of National Security likely remained in the minds of congress. Leasings authority was initially delegated to territorial officials. Governor William Henry harrison granted salient leases near the river, while Fredrick Bates issued the first lead leases to lands in presentday missouri. The success of these early effort was decidedly mixed. On one hand the salt business was good. By 1818 the lessees turned over more than 158,000 bushels of salt, implying the production of nearly 1. 6 million burnls in a 15year period. With illinoiss admission to the union, however, the sa saline reservations and existing leases were turned over to the state. The u. S. Government largely left the salt business. Management of lead mines in presentday missouri on the other hand presented a significant challenge. Upon completing the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 the United States inherited a quagmire of legal land claims made by french and spanish governments as well as the longstanding traditions of people far removed from centers of power. Secretary bates among others were tasked with sorting through various land claims for legitimacy as well as overseeing the leasing of mineral lands. The presence of preexisting land claims complicated the leasing system by allowing some to mine legally on their own land without paying any rent while others, potentially on neighboring tracts, were required to acquire leases. The process of validating land claims dragged on for decades, complicated by a lack of formal documents and grants made illegally after the purchase. In the interim, bates was unable to keep fraudulent claimants from mining and suffered the willful flouting of his authority. Unsurprisingly by 1816 he could only report two active leases and sarcastically mused he might be fined and imprisoned by the mines entinterlopers. Mineral leasing saw little success until the reserve mineral lands were transferred to the authority of the War Departments Ordinance Bureau. Within days of the transfer the bureau received applications to open Mining Operations on the river in the present of illinois. Thats what this image shows. This is a period image from 1829 of essentially the northwest corner of illinois, and with it wisconsin and iowa. Here the War Department followed the lead of earlier territorial officials by granting leases for large tracts of land for rates of 10 payable in smelted lead. Although the lands differed from those in missouri by not being blanketed with preexisting private claims, the initial transition of the leasing system to the upper mississippi was not entirely successful either. After a season commanding a Mining Company in 1822, james johnson, the bureaus first lessee and brother of thensenator richard m. Johnson, coincidentally the guy who claimed to have killed tecmseh. He implied it was done in the interest of National Interest and at risk to himself. Regardless of the rhetoric, personal gain trumped the National Interest. That being said the transfer of mineral lands to the authority of the Ordinance Bureau eventually lead to the leasing systems period of greatest success. Beginning in 1823 the bureau dispatched a series of Army Officers to act as agents of the leasing system on the ground in missouri and the upper mississippi. In response to issues like johnsons refusal to pay taxes and the complicated process of issuing leases, these officers with washingtons approval began licensing smelters and issuing permits to individual diggers. Individual miners were required to sell their mineral to a licensed smelter but would not need to hold their own lease. In exchange for the guaranteed supply of customers, smelters would be responsible for paying the collected tax lead. Shifting the focus from lessees to smelters made the collection of government lead easier and freed up the mineral country for general laborers. By the summer of 1825 individual miners agreed to abide by a set of regulations. Smelters were required to deposit surety bonds with the War Department, and lessees continued to operate freed from the requirement to do their own smelting. Smelters and lessees were allowed 320acre parcels, namely for timber, while diggers could claim small plots of a few hundred square feet. In 1825 before the new regulations took effect, the federal government issued some 40 leases. Only 17 of which had begun operations. Together these 17 lessees raised some 1. 2 Million Pounds of lead. By 1827, 1,600 miners in the upper mines produced more than 5 Million Pound of lead, and in 1829, the date from which this map or the period from which this map emerges, an estimated 10,000 residents produced more than 13 Million Pound of refined lead. In comparison, the public mines of missouri produced only 900,000 pounds of refined lead during 1827. With the success of the upper mississippi mines, the government effectively admitted defeat in missouri and congress authorized the sale of the southern reservations in 1829. Success was short lived. By 1832, the growing community of miners in the north northern lead district raised the issue of reserving mineral lands at all. Miners and nonminers alike argued that maintaining the leasing system was effectively unamerican and lobbied for public land sales. Wisconsins nonmineral bearing lands opened to sale in 1834, but through a combination of ignorance, fraud and outright malfeasance, considerable amounts of mineral land transferred to private ownership. The simple fact mirrored the earlier patchwork of public and private ownership in missouri and made the direction of government rents difficult at best. The tension reached i. T. Zenith in the fall of 1834 when two prominent smelters repfused to pay the rent to the government. By the summer of 1835, the reese fewal to pay throughout the country and the government sued the original nonpayers. Upon being sued by the United States, rather than plead innocence, it was argued that the 1807 law authorizing the federal leasing was itself unconstitutional, questioning the legality of allowing the president to lease land. When the case reached the u. S. Supreme court in 1840, the court firmly procelaimed the 1807 law constitutional, concluding, quote, power over public land is vested in congress by the constitution without limitation, therefore congress was within its power to defer the ability to lease to the president. It was a pirate victory however as the upper mississippi Mineral Agency effectively closed shop. From that point we move a little further north into michigan, specifically the peninsula. While various attempts would be made to revive the system in the upper mississippi, especially after the United States v. Gratchett, leasing story moved to Lake Superior in the 1840s. The copper deposits on the peninsula entered into u. S. Ownership in 1842. Given the issues in the upper mississippi however the Ordinance Bureau changed tactics in an attempt to establish and maintain control over the copper region. Among the offices first decisions was to issue permits and leases for much larger areas, initially nine square miles, in an effort to keep the number of lessees manageable. They also named an experienced civilian agent to super of superintendent t superintendent the opening of the mines, walter cunning ham, an employee of the revised upper mississippi agency. Most importantly, the War Department concluded to counter potential squatters and unlicensed miners with a Permanent Military force. During the summer of 1844 two companies of the u. S. Armys fifth infantry began construction of fort wilkins at copper harbor. Thats what you see here. So the image at the top is that of fort wilkins. This is an aerial view of copper harbor, and that is showing you exactly where it is located. This is an incredibly, lets say, beautiful, yet inhospitable portion of Lake Superior. In a blow to the interest of common miners, the Mineral Agency on Lake Superior in 1846 permitted lessees to transport raw material out of the mineral country and departed from the longstanding policy rent was always to be paid and smelted in refined metal. The arrangement allowed lessees to skip the smelting process and without the growth of local pro setsors or growth of local marngt to sell is, individual miners were left with little choice but to become employees rather than independent operators. The 1844 election of james k. Polk to the presidency ended the leasing system. In his first annual address to congress, polk labeled the system radically defective and called upon the legislature to oprey serve mineral land for sale. In 1846 pool can concluded that the 1807 law authorizing the reservations was limited to lands promising salt or lead, not copper, and ordered the secretary of war to cease issuing leases. Within Weeks Congress authorized they authorized the sale in the troops were transferred to the war with nemexico. Folk reminded congress about the copper reservations in the Second Annual address and the legislature at last authorized the sale of those lands in 1847. Dismantling the leasing system at a loss or policy when gold was discovered in california the following year. In the ensuing chaos combined with the extreme distance from washington left miners to their own device and were reluctant to attempt management. By the 1850s, miners established their own rules and the Fillmore Administration concluded to leave the gold placeers open to the industry of all our citizen ises. At least temporarily. Subsequent laws culminating in the general mining act of 1872 codified this policy by declaring all Mineral Deposits on public land free and open to exploration and purchase. The arrival of the mining policy being a reaction to Government Intervention rather than the default position of an inherently small government. In closing, if i may venture outside the life and times of james k. Polk, the arguments made have continued to have significance into our own time. Even when the courts or history has proven them wrong. Most obviously despite the term in the mining act of 1872 the u. S. Government returned to a leasing system in 1920. That being said, its perhaps the voices of leasings opponents who continue to have the loudest champions. In the late 70s, a movement adopted the position that public land should be sold or turn ed over to the states. In the 1990s, three dozen western counties passed ordinance claiming control over federal land. For his refusal to Land Management authority over his practice of grazing cattle on public land. All this before his son led the occupation of a wildlife refuge. While the rebels are biding time in the plight is stul being decided in the court of public opinion, attention here to the efforts of nevada is warranted. As one of those western counties to take matters into their own hands in 1993, they found themselves on the receiving end of federal prosecution. Among the cases cited to support the plaintiffs argument was one u. S. The 1840 Supreme Court decision establishing congresss unlim Unlimited Power over public lands. While the original leasing system died in the era of james k. Polk, heirs to the opponents remain a vocal minority. Thank you. Daniel is a ph. D. Student in religious studies at Stanford University specializing in american religious history. He holds the master of religion from Yale University and a master of theological studies from australian catholic university. His Current Research is centered on the role of religion in the formation of the Democratic Party and the place of religion in the rise of Andrew Jackson. He is also the host of the age of jackson podcast, which is sponsored by Andrew Jacksons herm taj. Thank you for coming to listen to our panel. Id like to express special thanks for letting me join after the papers had closed and a special thanks to charles sellers for funding my trip here. In the early days of 1846, president polk received a letter from his old classmate. The pair had studied together at the university of North Carolina and both men had joined the Democratic Party. Polk serve issing in the house to help advance jacksons cause mostly representslet norse county in North Carolina senate from 1829 to 1837. Following husband defeat for the governorship, he and his family moved to florida. And auded the territory into the union as a state. Serving as the first governor in 1845. Polk had carried the correspondents throughout the year, but on this occasion, mosley expressed his turns about the oregon territory and a possible war with great britain. While he doubted that war without overcome oregon, he turned to the almighty and thanked him that his friend was president. Flattering moezly expressed i believe the almighty intended to bless this country, where he placed you at the helm. Do what you believe is right, and i know you will, and trust the consequences to your god and all will be right. The letter is is one, but one example among many within the correspondents of james k. Polk in which religion is invoked. In examine iing the papers it becomes clear that the majority of the discussion of religion comes from the receiving end, with polk reluctant to mention god or religion unless necessary. Compared to his mentor Andrew Jackson, who seemed to relish employing biblical illusions and invoke iing the power of the almighty, polks silence is notable. One of polks biographers goes so far to say his religion was partisan politics. But it would be a mistake to consider polk uninterested in religion and for that matter the democra democrats. Another of polks biographers, the earliest biographer, polks religion was religion is the very best possession of the world and the last to be spoken of. It should dwell quietly in the heart and rule the life. But dont be hawked on the community or scorched by a buck letter for protection. Because of the whig partys voting bloc, and occasional calls for National Days of prayer and fasting, the importance of religion for the wiig party has long been noted by historians. As one has argued, the Party Represented a form of political revivalism in which protestants hope to christianize America Vevia electoral politics. Daniel has highlighted the way postallymy lent yall theology that flourished in the early 19th century inspired all kinds of reforms and innovations from society and enriched the political culture of the whig party with a sense of optimistic view of history. One article has the state of religion asserted, we do not contend legislation should dictate religious exercises or religious tunes. We maintain that religion revealed religion, christianity should regulate legislation. Try to say that ten times fast. He was proclaimed at the time to be the christian statesman. In their electoral struggles against democrats like jackson, van buren and polk, whigs were confident in their platform they would win the hearts of pa patriotic christian b americans. But few scholars remarked how they informed the development of the jack sewn yan democrats. Since the age of jackson, numerous scholars characterized the young Democratic Party as predominantly secular in their political orientation. Such a description is not without merit. As they did advocate for strict separation of church and state, one of the classic examples of this can be found within the Jackson Administration during the cholera epidemic. Despite the pleas and letters for jackson to order a day of prayer and fasting, hoping to end the illness, jackson rejected his ability to do so. Stating that while he believesed in the effectiveness of prayer, as the president mandating prayer was incompatible with the constitution. Envisioning themselves as the heirs of thomas jefferson, jacksonens regarded religion as a private matter, something that should be kept out of public office. Democrats typically object ed from the moralistic preachings of whigs and often depicted them as bigted, selfrye house is religious fa the gnattic on imposing their values on others. Recently highlighted that the democrats avoided framing american politics in the language of sin and redemption. In the words of the pro jackson report, our constitution recognizes and every person the right to choose his own religion and enjoy it freely without moll station. They hoped to lend over their lack of piety, or even worse, their theologies and demonic political policies. One levelled against democrats was that of atheism, that was intent to secure the overthrow of the church in all its form and the destruction of all ministers of religion. Religious imagery assisted. One political cartoon depicted Andrew Jackson as a devil, tempting the people with the spoils of his office. While a comedic letters featured him mocking the followers of jackson as if jackson was descend issing from hempb with a glow and a halo as some kind of divine figure. A cartoon of Mark Van Buren depicting him as a king after the panic of 1837 has him being crowned by the demon himself. Polk was not spared from the association with the demonic cartoon displaying a half being strukted by a demon concealing himself with the mask of Andrew Jackson on what to do about the oregon territory. Ceremonies have also been a feature of the jack sewn ysonia painted against the people. They placed the effigy and robe around its neck, an empty boxes and consigned the whole thing to the flims shouting the a a identity approval of the crowds. A man from pittsburgh noting the burning of the trader claylike wise confessed in the letter i am constrained to believe fully aagreeable to scripture that might not be slain. They found such religion blasphemous wondering what a religious community is is to think of such a profanity of the world of the almighty. According to a minister, the nightly orgies were scenes of drunkenness and revelry. Among the frantic rights observed with the mock celebration of of the lords supper and the burning of the bible. The last was a place of hot coals in the firewood and burning the book of the lord with prayers and songs. Whig newspapers reported scandalous scenes during the election of 1844 of new recruits for the Democratic Party being baptized with whiskey in the name of Andrew Jackson, the father, james k. Polk, the son, and texas, the holy ghost. Given such an onslaught, its Little Wonder why george complained how men were preaching against the democrats bemoaning sermons were preached and the community was made to believe that there was a danger and the bible would be taken out of their hands. With all of these assaults from the whigs and the commitment to the separation of church and state, still it would be an error to regard the jacksonian democrats as antireligious. This point is easily demonstrated when we look at the makeup of the jacksonian democratic coalition. Studies in thor ro have shone, democrats were methodist and catholics. While both native born and European Jews were divided politically, it seems that the majority of them leaned democratic. Mormons while often dissatisfied with how they were trooeted within american politics displayed a willingness time and time again to go back and forth, but when push came to shove, the latter day saints did prefer to vote democrat. Case in point, when joseph smith is assassinated, whien rerun fo president the mormons vote for polk. Also often aligned themselves with the democrats. The indiana washington son and biblical fashion proclaimed in the name of Andrew Jackson, they will crumble before the majesty of the people are rising in their power as the god of the philistines before the tabernacle of the eternal. Theres a small voice still gathered among the people which says at the time a trial is coming, which points to the savior of the south and says the man is is the man of the people, his head is sound, his heart is pure, his cause is the cause of the people. Like whigs, democrats as early as 1822 met in churches to show their support for jackson, van buren and polk. They despite no man for his son. One pointed out how the new Democratic Movement infused theology to show the expansion under polk was the will of god. For democrats god operated through the great democratic masses. New york democrats could anouz nous we believe all power emulates from god. Given the variety of religious bodies that made up the jacksonian democratic coalition, what sense can be made of their convictio convictions. How did these diverse groups form a coalition that helped jackson, van buren and polk land the presidency. In what sense can we think of jacksonian democrats where they be catholic, jewish or mormon as the more secular party. My point is not to butt russ the claim of the Cultural School of interpretation, as i agree with much of the criticism made, but rather to highlight that democrats indeed had a religious character to their politics and their political party, this, i believe is ripe ground for more exploration, which im hoping to do later. Readers will note the echoes of lee bensons school of interpretation in my term. This is certainly the case, but i prefer the term ethnic for several reasons. My emphasis as a scholar of religion, is to emphasize the religious identifier as corrective. As religious believes and practices and rituals almost completely ignored by cultural scholar historians in general. Simply focusing on the institutional confines and rallying points of voting blocs is only half the story. As scholars have pointed out. Their ideological differences need to be taken seriously and so do their theological differences. We should not just highlight that most Irish Catholic immigrants were jacksonian democrats. We should investigate how these Irish Catholic immigrants believed, how they practiced their faith in order to better understand their place as jacksonian democrats. If william saw the hand of god in the elections of james k. Polk, im sure other democrats did as well. Thank you. P[ applause ] i shall address each of these papers very interesting papers in the sequence in which they were delivered. His project is truly wonderful with a lot of original research. His linking of military history with environmental history. Each with uts own tradition and both hugely importants a pelkts of americas 19th century continental expansion. President polk has been studied mostly in relation to warfare compared with environmentalism. I have been involved with that myself and most recently writing a chapter for a volume called america and the just war tradition, which is just now come iing out. Its edited by Mark David Hall and charles and published by Notre Dame University press. Forgive my littled a investigator there. But professor gunther in his work on president polks environmental history has caused attention to a side of polk that at first glance seems astonishing. His support for both the new Smithsonian Institution and the creation of the department of the interior, gunther correctly points out that these sieem mor like measures than jacksonian democratic ones. It was worthwhile to see the extent to which support for creating the interior department crossed sectional and party lines. I must confess, however, that his arithmetic when counting up the congressional votes maybe you have changed that arit hmetc a little. I would only say if we think of polk in this case as an american imperialist rather than as a party man, then his support for the interior department and the smithsonian can seem logical. Congratulations, michael, on a wonderful project. Patrick is making a real contribution to a significant subject in the history of tral mining policy. In the written version of todays presentation, the doctor vows that hes working in the tradition of two of my own favorite historians. John larson and max headland. But his knowledge of the subject goes way beyond secondary sources. He demonstrations an impressive command of the primary documents. I commend his pointing out to us that the issues confronted in president polks day about the federal government leasing rather than selling land are by no means resolved even in our own day. Good luck on your project. Sorry i got my pages messed up. The avowed purpose is to demonstrate the pace of religion in the minds of jacksonian democrats. He is is right that historians have had much more to say about the place of religion in the political culture of the whigs. He even spends a lot of his own time on the religion of the whigs and on their accusations that the democrats were antireligious. He correctly points out that quite a number of religious denominations, in fact, supported the democrats much of the time, including methodists, baptis baptists, lutherans, catholics, especially the irish immigrants. Mo mormons, jews and universalists. Yes, thats all true. He doesnt say anything about presbyterians. But the presbyterians seem to be divide divided. The skoths irish presbyterians do seem to be more democratic, but other presbyterians are often whigs. So he calls upon us to investigate the believes of these diverse groups to see whether that can help explain their affinity for the Democratic Party. Clearly he has not yet undertaken this venture into intellectual history. I cant help noticing, however, the sub title of his presentation. James k. Polk and jacksonian religion as entitled rational christianity. Regarding president polk, i would certainly recommend he investigate the first lady, a devout presbyterian who banned dancing and card playing in the white house, but not alcohol. If he can show that the Roman Catholic theology of 19th century irish immigrants saw itself as an entitlement version of christianity, i shall be much surprised. The religious sect that avoudly undertook to make itself an entitled, rational version of christianity was one that he never mentioned. Unitarianism. Voters were to a man. Very few of the intellectuals who the enlightenment and with elements of christianity, very few embraced the Democratic Party. I cant help but suspect that when he finished his worthwhile inquiry into the jacksonians, he will not find an entitlement, rational version of christianity was what the democratic voters had in common. Thank you. So now at last we have a chance to entertain questions and comments from the audience. Yes, sir. Come to the the microphone. My question is is for daniel. If you consider civil religion to be a religion, how would we relate polk to that . I dont consider it religion. This might get too down the religious rabbit hole, but i have r particular definitions of religion that has to do with human relationships with super human powers and things like that. But speaking the more general term, my problem with that is a civil religion can be made so expansive to include everybody in it. So it has the total effect and then it gets harder to differentiate between how do whigs feel about this, how do democrats feel about that. So in that sense, i dont know it civil religion is is a helpful term. Thats my short answer. This is for patrick. In terms of polk and mining policies, i have had had in my supper seminaries where i do president ial politics and comparison, more than one discussion on how he helps us understand ronald reagan. Is there anything about the mining policy ises that you know about with reagan that might further how you concluded what you did . I want to be careful in that observation. I want to be more specific and say my training is very much in history of the early republic. Its only since i started teaching that i have had to grapple with more of these ideas. But i would say in relation to what i said in the paper, generally speaking, reagan is seen as an ally of the sage brush rebels. Make sure that you can be heard all the way back. So in that case, i think theres a clear continuum at play there. And reagans secretary of the interior, whose name escapes me now, fits under that context. But from my perspective, its been a more recent fiasco with the bundy family that jumps out at me. While in the long run i dont think the sage brush rebels were terribly successful, although they pushed their agenda and manage d to get some concession, its this rebirth of the idea even before the age of trump now were seeing a lot of the antifederal language come up, which having spent all this time with this early 19th century literature sounds really familiar. So thats where i would come. I would urge you to think about it that familiarity. Especially in your larger work youre thinking about the applicability to today. Im endlessly charmed by how students respond to that. I dont know if it means anything. Thank you. Yes, sir . Come up to the microphone. The pope project retired. I want to address the question of polks religion briefly. With all due respect to sarah and his wife and to his mother jane, polk went to church with them whenever he was in their home faithfully every sunday. But james religion is from his father and grandfather, who were devout, if the term is adequate, to the more secular world. Indeed, his grandfather led a somewhat notorious war in the last four or five years that he remained in mecklenburg county. It was called the dias war and grandfather was prompted to this war in favor of his grandson, who had been presented to the Presbyterian Church for baptism, and when the minister asked samuel, the father and ezekiel, the grandfather, if they would rededicate their life to jesus, and they both said no. They were devout. Then i cant baptize your baby. And the future president was ushered out of the Church Without the blessing of christianity. He did not receive that at any time this his conscious life. In the last day of his life in very, very, very heavy weather, he was in the last stages of cholera, a methodist and presbyterian minister came to the home and baptized him without his consent. But that was for the mother and wife. James went through the university of North Carolina in three years. He was first in his class in mathematics and latin. His father was surveyor, sometimes in cahoots with Andrew Jackson, and that was the tie of the family to the the jacksonian cause. But james was asked on his 50th birthday about his faith in god, and he did not denounce his l n leanings toward a more is secular view. So im not surprised at that, but what i would say about these different religious groups that came to america and are yet in the immigrant stages, be it new york or wherever, these people came for land and land is their religion. This is their hope. When they spoke of being free, it went they would not have a master. We did not change the title of the labor laws until the 1880s. They were known as master and servant laws. So one of the overriding spiritual things about immigration at that time and i think of the people who came to the country for freedom. It meant land. And it meant land, they were not interested in banks. Not all were free. Polk created a subdivision around the union. It became later in 2012, established in law as our Banking System as we know it today. So he is remarkable in that light. But id like to say go forward on your religious search, but dont forget the land. Thats the belief that controls their lives, their destiny, their survival. So thank you very much for coming. All the papers are good. Thank you, sir, for your guidance. Thank you all for coming and presenting today. Im afraid im going to be continuing the theme about religious discussion with another question for daniel. Im fascinated by your interest in how religion shapes politics and how religion is expressed in politics. I wonder if you can comment to what degree the inverse takes place with so many growing religious options through the second grade awakening. To what degree do you see politics shaping religious discourse or people converting or changing denominations because of political ideology and so forth . Sdwl thats. Thats a great question. My first comment would be id be hesitant to do what we typically do, which we do with the fact that we have religion departments and history departments. These things are so intertwined the way i like to think about it is the ways a rope is bound together. So religion in politics, politics in religion, all of this is infused. Its infused when they are seeing church on sunday and going to the books. So the fact that Andrew Jackson rides on the sabbath, thats like what does that mean . Is that they have to think about that type of stuff. My issue is some historians is have taken a cynical approach where its like, well, this is just to advance the political agenda. Its just to advance their economic interests. Its just to advance their racial standing as free white men. But i would argue that these people do take the bible seriously. They take their devotion quite seriously. And the fact that they like someone like like jackson and there might be unsettling things about them when you only have a few people to vote for, how do you express your political bill. So thats a question im interested in. In terms of the political party, we definitely see if the whigs are to be believed, the baptisms of whiskey is an interest iing showing of that. They looked at how the religious makeup and democratic makeup have had a symbiotic relationship that many Church Organizations and hierarchy start to resemble the makeup of the lit call parties as well. The same technology thats used to broadcast mexico is used for revivals. So this whole relationship is selfassuring. I hope that somewhat answers your question. Yes, sir. Looking a at the polk family itself, which i have done a lot of personal research in, its fascinating to see the development of their religion from one generation to the next. They were art dant presbyterians. The ministers in those days were very highly trained. They would go to the university and it took a long time. And they had to learn a lot and prove themselves. So they started losing out on the frontiers to the other religions. Specifically the baptists and methodists. I and i know that polk had a particular distrust. And wouldnt have anything to do with them. A lot of them started going with that rather than the religious folk level of religion of the others. He was very influential in politics after the war. He was a personal mentor of the president and Andrew Jackson. There was fascinating character because his father said, well, youre going to be a soldier. And he went to west point. Gararaduated from west point. You probably know all this. And he never he found jesus at west point. He was baptized in the chapel. He started a whole movement. They have had profound influe e influence. But that was all with the episcopal church. Youll find all the churches in louisiana, alabama, tennessee, all going back to him. And there was a huge upset by his father that he decided this is the way he wants to go. So its a fascinating man. Had it never worked out. Its just following the individuals in the family. Youre demonstrating one of the things im trying to push back against. While i agree, hes an easy example and is a good one because he gets baptized. My point is just because you dont do that stuff means you dont have religion. Thats lienglike my line in the the sand. Its easy to look at the whigs and evangelicals and they have the religion party. Its a different kind of religion, its a different kind of a lot of them are still engauged in the theological musings. But to james k. Polk, one of the things that fascinates me is his relationship with masonry. The relationship with masonry and its complicated theology to the grand architect and all that stuff, which we might see today ased a branch of christianity. But it may not be a come to jesus awakening revival, but it is religious. Thats the point im trying to make. Hes had a great party. When he comes to town. I take it then theres no one else seeking to ask a question or make a point. So i will thank all of you very much for coming and sharing in our enlightening discussion. Thank you all. All week were featuring American History tv programs as a preview of whats available every weekend on cspan 3. The legislatures in history. American artifacts, reel america, the civil war, oral histories, the presidency, and special event coverage about our nations history. Enjoy American History tv now and every weekend on cspan b 3. Weeknights this month, were featuring programs of whats available every weekend on cspan 3. Tonight the life and career of general eisenhower, who became americas 34th president in 1953. We begin with historian david mills on how the world war Ii Partnership between u. S. Army chief of staff George Marshal and general eisenhower helped win the war. Mr. Mills is is a military history professor with the u. S. Army command and general staff college. Watch American History tv tonight at 8 00 eastern on cspan 3. Sunday at 9 00 a. M. Eastern, American History tv live special call in program looking back at woodstock, the 1969 cultural and musical phenomenon. David farber, the author of the age of great dreams, joins us to take your calls. Drugs matter, but who takes those drugs and why they had the effect in the 60s and 70s is is still wrestling with to understand. The technology of drugs, we have some other people in here who thought long and hard about this, is imperative as an understanding not just of the 60s, but of the production of history. What drugs we use at a given period and place have incredible ability to change the direction of a given society. Call in to talk with david farber about the social movements of the 60s leading up to woodstock and its legacy. Woodstock 50 years, sunday at 9 00 a. M. Eastern on cspans washington journal. Also live on American History tv on cspan 3. Watch saturday august 31st at 10 00 a. M. Eastern, our coverage includes interviews with Ruth Bader Ginsburg on her book my own words. Sharon robinson taus about child of the dream. Rick ath tin son, author of the british are coming. And Thomas Malone founder of the center of intelligence discusses his book super minds. Live saturday, august 31st at 10 00 a. M. Eastern on book tv on cspan 2. American history tv continues our feature on the politics and times of president polk with a look at his relationship with previous president Martin Van Buren ask his role as a wartime chief executive. This panel was part of a conference at the university of tennessee that marked the completion of a 60year project to assemble and edit president polks papers. This is an hour and a half. I teach at grand rapids, michigan. This is known as the many sides of james k. Polk. Were going to explore five of the sides of james k. Polk. Id like to start with our introductions in a momt