James K. Polk was elected president after a campaign in which he promised to expand the nation’s borders as well as defend and advance the institution of slavery. Born in a log cabin and raised in North Carolina and Tennessee, he became a slave owner and entered politics as an ardent defender of the institution of slavery. Polk was noted for his skills as a debater; his writings were usually intended to convert his audience to his point of view. Before becoming president in early 1845, he was an ardent advocate of states’ rights and of limiting the federal government only to the powers specifically given it by the Constitution.