# 2587 - 1995 32c James Polk

US #2587
1995 James K. Polk

• Honors 11^th President
• Polk was in office when first US postage stamp was issued

Category of Stamp:  Definitive
Value:  32¢, First-class mail rate
First Day of Issue:  November 2, 1995
First Day City:  Columbia, Tennessee
Quantity Issued:  105,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Engraved
Format:  Panes of 100 (10 across, 10 down)
Perforations:  11.2
Color:  red brown

Reason the stamp was issued:  This stamp was issued in honor of the 200^th birthday of James K. Polk, America’s 11^th president.  He is just the fourth US President to be commemorated on a stamp for this anniversary.

About the stamp design:  The image of Polk on this stamp was made by commercial artist John Thompson using scratchboard.  This technique begins with a black surface, and portions are scratched away to reveal a white layer underneath.  Thompson used a photo of Polk as the model for his work.  This was one of the first photos of a sitting President.

The overall design of the stamp is patterned after the 1932 George Washington Bicentennial stamps (US #704-15).  The frame resembles the 1/2¢ stamp from that set.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue ceremony took place on Polk’s birthday in the town where he spent much of his adult life.

History the stamp represents: 

Polk was the first man to be elected President under the age of 50 - and also the first dark-horse candidate to win the office.

 

Many important events occurred in the United States under Polk's leadership: America's western boundaries were pushed all the way to the Pacific Ocean, the Canadian and Mexican borders were defined, the US Naval Academy and the Smithsonian Institution were established, the first known baseball game was played, and the first US postage stamp was issued.

 

Birth Of James K. Polk 

Small and sickly, Polk was spared hard farm chores but did learn to help his father manage and survey land.  In 1815, he entered the University of North Carolina.  He graduated at the top of his class.  After just one year of study, he was admitted to the bar in 1820 to practice law.  Polk opened a thriving law practice in Tennessee.

Polk soon found interest in politics.  In 1823, he was elected to the Tennessee legislature.  In 1825, he was elected to his first of seven congressional terms.  He became speaker of the House in 1835.  An extremely hard worker, Polk was absent only once during his 14 years as a congressman.  Andrew Jackson persuaded Polk to run for governor of Tennessee in 1839.  He won the election but failed to regain the office in the next two elections.

Polk’s era was known as the “Fabulous ’40s.”  During his presidency, the United States experienced its greatest territorial expansion.  This was due to the American victory in the Mexican-American War – which Polk successfully directed.  The US acquired most of the land that formed nine western states as a result of the war.  Settlers traveled in covered wagons to the West on the Oregon Trail.  Gold was discovered in California.  A new invention – the telegraph – sent news such as Polk’s nomination across the nation.  It was a time of great excitement in America.

However, Polk had his detractors.  Social reformers disliked him due to his lack of concern about social issues.  These included child labor, immigrant poverty, and slavery.  And although he was a good friend and political follower of the charismatic Andrew Jackson, Polk himself was a cold and quiet person.  Many people regarded him as ungenerous.  For these reasons, many Americans were not disappointed when Polk did not seek a second term, despite his extremely successful term as chief executive.  He was the first president not to seek re-election.