At noon on Jan. 20, Joseph Biden Jr. will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. That may be the only thing anyone can say with certainty. Everything else is just an educated guess.
Inaugurations have long mirrored the nation’s cultural life. Joe Biden’s will feature Tom Hanks, Justin Timberlake and Jon Bon Jovi remotely, in an age of illness and threats.
This President Secretly Purchased Enslaved Children While in Office
James Polk bought 19 people during his presidency, at least 13 of whom were children.
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James Polk bought 19 people during his presidency, at least 13 of whom were children.
James K. Polk, the 11th president of the United States, is probably best known for growing the the size of the country by more than one-third. This territorial expansion pushed the U.S. border all the way to the West Coast, precipitating a heated national debate about whether to spread slavery to even more territories. Yet as white northerners in particular became increasingly uncomfortable with slavery’s expansion, Polk sought to downplay his personal investment in the institution.