Merry examines how, in a one-term presidency, James K. Polk completed the story of America's Manifest Destiny by expanding its territory across the continent.

Originally published in hardcover: New York : Simon & Schuster, c2009. Originally published: New York : Simon & Schuster, c2009. Originally published in hardcover: New York : Simon & Schuster, ©2009.

Introduction: Ritual of democracy: the emergence of an expansionist president -- Young Hickory: the making of a Jackson protégé -- Tennessee and Washington: the rise and fall of a presidential loyalist -- The 1844 election: searching for a means of political recovery -- Texas: dawn of a new era -- Polk vs. Clay: answering the question, "Who is James K. Polk?" -- The victor: preparing for the mantle of leadership -- Taking charge: America's zest for grand ambitions -- Annexation complete: diplomacy, intrigue, and the force of politics -- The United States and Oregon: "The people here are worn out by delay" -- The United States and Mexico: divergent new world cultures on a path to war -- Britain and Mexico: playing with prospects of a dual war -- The Twenty-ninth Congress: Polk takes command of the national agenda -- End of a treaty: diplomacy and politics at war with each other -- War: "Every consideration of duty and patriotism" -- Vagaries of war: "And may there be no recreant soul to fail or falter now" -- Presidential temperament: "I prefer to supervise the whole operations of the government" -- Wilmot's proviso: transformation of the war debate -- The war in the West: patriotism, duty, adventure, and glory -- The new face of war: "We are yet to have a long and wearisome struggle" -- The politics of rancor: constitutional usurpation vs. moral treason -- Dilatory Congress: the challenge of presidential leadership -- Veracruz and beyond: grappling with Mexico's military defiance -- Scott and Trist: a clash of policy and temperament -- Mexico City: the pivot of personality -- The specter of conquest: "Have we conquered peace? Have we obtained a treaty?" -- Treaty: from Trist to Polk to the Senate -- Peace: California, New Mexico, and the Union -- Final months: "Solemnly impressed with the... emptiness of worldly honors" -- Epilogue: Legacy: the price of presidential accomplishment.