Presidential Power and National Violence: James K. Polk’s Rhetorical Transfer of Savagery
Abstract
Abstract President James Knox Polk is often lauded for his achievements as president, including the territorial acquisition of the western portion of the nation. Critical attention to this legacy mostly focuses on his rhetorical strategy for putting the nation into war with Mexico. To date, no studies focus on Polk’s rhetorical strategy for ending the war. In this article, I examine Polk’s end-of-war rhetoric, attending to his rationalizations for exiting the war, his justification for resuming diplomatic relations with Mexico, and his identification of a new enemy requiring presidential and national attention. I argue that Polk’s pivot from Mexicans to Indians rhetorically transferred tropes of savagery to Indians, reenergized violence against Indians, and facilitated the institutionalization of management of Indian affairs via the creation of the Department of the Interior. I conclude that rhetorical critics should closely attend to the ways end-of-war rhetoric enables presidents to transition from one enemy to another while reaping institutional benefits.
- Journal
- Rhetoric & Public Affairs
- Published
- 2016-09-01
- DOI
- 10.14321/rhetpublaffa.19.3.0365
- CompPile
- Open Access
- Closed
- Topics
-
- Export
- BibTeX RIS
Citation context
Cited by in this index (0)
No articles in this index cite this work.
References (0)
No references on file for this article.
Related articles
-
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026Miriam F. Williams
-
Rhetorica Sep 2025Brent Nelson
-
Rhetorica Jun 2024Christoph Schwameis
-
Rhetoric & Public Affairs Mar 2024Jaclyn Bruner
-
Rhetorica Jan 2024Mind the Audience: Forensic Rhetoric, Persuasion, and Identification by Reference to the Social Identity of Athenian dikastai ↗Vasileios Adamidis