“James Knox Polk was one of the most significant presidents in the history of the United States. Prior to the election of 1844, James Polk was not even considered a candidate for the presidency. From May 27th to May 30th of 1844, the Democratic party held a national convention in Baltimore, Md., where the nominations for president took place (Kane, 69). During the first seven ballots, Polk had not a single vote cast for him. On the eighth ballot, former president Martin Van Buren, and his 104 votes, remained deadlocked with Lewis Cass, and his 114 (Kane,67). James Polk, completely unsuspecting of his chance at nomination, was somewhat surprised by his whopping total of 44 votes on the eighth ballot (Kane,67). The deadlock came to be over the issue of the annexation of Texas, which the party was indecisive in forming an opinion on. Van Buren tried to avoid the issue by stating that he would support whatever congress would decide (Boyer, 366). Van Buren’s evasion of the issue, alienated Lewis Cass, who was of a small group of northern annexationists.”