Editing James K. Polk (section)

=== Tennessee state legislator ===
By the time the legislature adjourned its session in September 1822, Polk was determined to be a candidate for the [[Tennessee House of Representatives]]. The election was in August 1823, almost a year away, allowing him ample time for campaigning.<ref name = "Borneman14" /> Already involved locally as a member of the [[Freemasonry|Masons]], he was commissioned in the Tennessee militia as a captain in the cavalry regiment of the 5th Brigade. He was later appointed a colonel on the staff of Governor [[William Carroll (Tennessee politician)|William Carroll]], and was afterwards often referred to as "Colonel".<ref name="s25">Seigenthaler, p. 25</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=United States Department of the Army |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZlARhqdLa4C |title=Soldiers |year=1980 |page=4}}</ref> Although many of the voters were members of the Polk clan, the young politician campaigned energetically. People liked Polk's oratory, which earned him the nickname "Napoleon of the Stump". At the polls, where Polk provided alcoholic refreshments for his voters, he defeated incumbent William Yancey.<ref name="Borneman14">Borneman, p. 14</ref><ref name="s25" />

[[File:James K Polk and Sarah C Polk.jpg|thumb|left|upright|{{circa}} 1846–49 [[daguerreotype]] of James K. Polk and [[Sarah Childress Polk]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Daguerreotype of President and Mrs. Polk|url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/daguerreotype-of-president-and-mrs-polk|access-date=February 4, 2021|website=WHHA (en-US)|language=en}}</ref>]]

Beginning in early 1822, Polk courted [[Sarah Childress]]—they were engaged the following year<ref>Seigenthaler, p. 26</ref> and married on January 1, 1824, in Murfreesboro.<ref name="Borneman14" /> Educated far better than most women of her time, especially in frontier Tennessee, Sarah Polk was from one of the state's most prominent families.<ref name = "Borneman14" /> During James's political career Sarah assisted her husband with his speeches, gave him advice on policy matters, and played an active role in his campaigns.<ref name = "sarah">{{cite web|title=Sarah Childress Polk|publisher=[[White House Historical Association]]|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/about-the-white-house/first-families/sarah-childress-polk/|access-date=January 26, 2018}}</ref> Rawley noted that Sarah Polk's grace, intelligence and charming conversation helped compensate for her husband's often austere manner.<ref name = "a" />

Polk's first mentor was Grundy, but in the legislature, Polk came increasingly to oppose him on such matters as [[land reform]], and came to support the policies of Andrew Jackson, by then a military hero for his victory at the [[Battle of New Orleans]] (1815).<ref>Borneman, p. 16</ref> Jackson was a family friend to both the Polks and the Childresses—there is evidence Sarah Polk and her siblings called him "Uncle Andrew"—and James Polk quickly came to support his presidential ambitions for 1824. When the [[Tennessee Legislature]] deadlocked on whom to elect as U.S. senator in 1823 (until 1913, legislators, not the people, elected senators), Jackson's name was placed in nomination. Polk broke from his usual allies, casting his vote for Jackson, who won. The Senate seat boosted Jackson's presidential chances by giving him current political experience{{efn|Jackson had served in both houses of Congress in the 1790s.}} to match his military accomplishments. This began an alliance<ref>Borneman, pp. 16–18</ref> that would continue until Jackson's death early in Polk's presidency.<ref name = "a" /> Polk, through much of his political career, was known as "Young Hickory", based on the nickname for Jackson, "Old Hickory". Polk's political career was as dependent on Jackson as his nickname implied.<ref>Greenberg, p. 25</ref>

[[File:JamesKPolkHome.jpg|thumb|alt=A two-story brick building with large windows and shrubbery in front of it|The house where Polk spent his young adult life before his presidency, in [[Columbia, Tennessee]], is his only private residence still standing. It is now known as the [[James K. Polk Ancestral Home|James K. Polk Home]].]]

In the [[1824 United States presidential election]], Jackson got the most electoral votes (he also led in the popular vote) but as he did not receive a majority in the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]], the election was thrown into the [[U.S. House of Representatives]], which chose Secretary of State [[John Quincy Adams]], who had received the second-most of each. Polk, like other Jackson supporters, believed that Speaker of the House [[Henry Clay]] had traded his support as fourth-place finisher (the House may only choose from among the top three) to Adams in a [[Corrupt bargain#Election of 1824|Corrupt Bargain]] in exchange for being the new Secretary of State. Polk had in August 1824 declared his candidacy for the following year's election to the House of Representatives from [[Tennessee's 6th congressional district]].<ref name="Borneman23">Borneman, p. 23</ref> The district stretched from Maury County south to the Alabama line, and extensive electioneering was expected of the five candidates. Polk campaigned so vigorously that Sarah began to worry about his health. During the campaign, Polk's opponents said that at the age of 29 Polk was too young for the responsibility of a seat in the House, but he won the election with 3,669 votes out of 10,440 and took his seat in Congress later that year.<ref>Borneman, pp. 23–24</ref>