When James K. Polk was elected president in 1844, his popular support had arisen largely from four key platforms: territorial expansion, lowering tariffs, fiduciary reforms, and promise to serve a single term as chief executive. His inaugural address was telegraphed to newspapers across the nation and its printing was accompanied by a newspaper illustration – both of these firsts were huge technological leaps. Polk strongly advocated for the expansion of the borders of the United States. Polk emphatically embraced the ideals of the Monroe Doctrine (strong opposition to foreign influence in U.S. policy) and of manifest destiny (the idea that U.S. expansion was inevitable), which translated into a nearly myopic quest to annex both the Oregon territory and Texas, whether by diplomacy or force.