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First Annual Message to Congress

When: December 2, 1845
Where: U.S. Capitol, Washington D.C.
Part of: Polk's annual message announces enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine and westward expansion

Polk delivered his first annual message to the 29th Congress on December 2, 1845, calling for strict enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine and westward expansion.

The address was presented to the 29th United States Congress. Polk requested approval to give Britain a one-year notice to terminate joint occupancy of Oregon. He also called for the government to keep its funds itself, opposing a national bank.

Sources

1845 State of the Union Address Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-22
James K. Polk Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-04

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.