# SDMB Retrospective US Presidential Elections 1844 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 18, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-retrospective-us-presidential-elections-1844/691027 "2014-06-18T01:35:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-retrospective-us-presidential-elections-1844/691027/1 "2014-06-18T01:35:30Z")
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United\_States\_presidential\_election,\_1844](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1844) Would have backed Polk for his expansionist views. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-retrospective-us-presidential-elections-1844/691027/2 "2014-06-18T01:36:42Z")
Would have backed Clay for his [American System.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_System_(economic_plan)) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-retrospective-us-presidential-elections-1844/691027/3 "2014-06-18T02:48:53Z")
Clay was more forward-thinking than Polk, who was more of a land grabber than someone who wanted to consolidate what we had. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-retrospective-us-presidential-elections-1844/691027/4 "2014-06-19T14:59:00Z")
Would have voted against Polk for his expansionist views. In those days, expansionism was driven by the slave states’ wish to expand slavery. I’m for the abolitionists. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-retrospective-us-presidential-elections-1844/691027/5 "2014-06-19T16:29:18Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > In those days, expansionism was driven by the slave states’ wish to expand slavery. That didn’t work out too well for them, though. In fact, Southern frustration on that point was one of the causes of the Civil War. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-retrospective-us-presidential-elections-1844/691027/6 "2014-06-19T19:11:00Z")
I’m for Polk. We had to grab while the grabbing was good. Yes, the opposition to annexation (of Texas) was driven by opposition to slavery, which was commendable. But, it was too shortsighted. Slavery would be dead within 20 years; the United States has survived for 170 years (since 1844) and counting. Without Texas and California (and the states in between), the United States would have been a smaller, poorer, and less powerful nation. For all that the Twentieth Century sucked, it would have sucked even more without a wealthy and powerful United States. We had to do what we had to do. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-retrospective-us-presidential-elections-1844/691027/7 "2014-06-19T19:33:41Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > I’m for Polk. We had to grab while the grabbing was good. Yes, the opposition to annexation (of Texas) was driven by opposition to slavery, which was commendable. But, it was too shortsighted. Slavery would be dead within 20 years; the United States has survived for 170 years (since 1844) and counting. > > Without Texas and California (and the states in between), the United States would have been a smaller, poorer, and less powerful nation. For all that the Twentieth Century sucked, it would have sucked even more without a wealthy and powerful United States. We had to do what we had to do. Perhaps, but now, in 1844, we don’t **know** any of that. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-retrospective-us-presidential-elections-1844/691027/9 "2014-07-18T08:07:59Z")
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