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SENATE BILL 1718
By Hensley
HOUSE BILL 1479
By Bulso
HB1479
010848
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 15,
Chapter 2, relative to days of special observance.
WHEREAS, James K. Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina on
November 2, 1795, the eldest of ten children; and
WHEREAS, when he was eleven years of age, James K. Polk and his family moved to
Tennessee, settled in what would become Maury County, and founded James K. Polk's lifetime
hometown, Columbia, Tennessee; and
WHEREAS, James K. Polk overcame a significant illness as a child, later attended and
was graduated from the University of North Carolina with first honors in both mathematics and
classics, and later studied law under the guidance of Felix Grundy; and
WHEREAS, James K. Polk joined the bar of Tennessee and embarked upon a
successful law practice, led a productive life as a lawyer in Columbia, Tennessee, was elected
to serve in the Tennessee General Assembly in 1823, and became a close friend and political
protégé of General Andrew Jackson; and
WHEREAS, James K. Polk was elected to the United States House of Representatives
from Tennessee in August 1825, and rose to be Speaker of the United States House of
Representatives in December of 1835; and
WHEREAS, James K. Polk was elected as the 11th Governor of the State of Tennessee
August 1, 1839, and in November of 1844 he was elected as the 11th President of the United
States; and
WHEREAS, James K. Polk served as President of the United States from March 4,
1845, until March 6, 1849, and during his time as President, expanded the territory of the United
States westward to include Texas, California, New Mexico, and the Oregon Territory, thus
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fulfilling the "Manifest Destiny" of the United States to be a beacon of liberty and freedom from
the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean; and
WHEREAS, because of the noble and indispensable service of James K. Polk to
Tennessee and the United States, it is appropriate that Tennessee observe November 2nd of
each year as "James K. Polk Day"; now, therefore,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 15, Chapter 2, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:
November 2 of each year is to be observed as "James K. Polk Day," to honor the
service of President James K. Polk to the State of Tennessee and the United States of
America.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.