Conditions for labouring children Essay Example

Conditions for labouring children Essay Example Conditions for labouring children Essay Conditions for labouring children Essay Do these sources, and the site at Quarry Bank Mill, fully explain what working conditions were like for children in textile mills, such as the one at Quarry Bank Mill, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries? Explain your answer with reference to your site study of Quarry Bank Mill, the sources and knowledge from your studies. A site visit to the mill at Styal is very useful for our studies because it gives us a sense of perspective about the mill and the conditions around working there.Going on a site visit brings what I have learnt together. But, what a site visit can not provide is a rounded view point on child labour in textile mills in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries: this is because Quarry Bank Mill is only one mill. A visit lets us see the lofty airy rooms, and see and hear the machinery work. To gain a fuller viewpoint of child labour we must compare Styal Mill to others.To find a universally applied answer as to what conditions were like for children working in textile mills, we need to compare what we know about Quarry Bank to others. Firstly, the punishments of pauper apprentices were favourable at Quarry Bank to others such as Litton Mill in Derbyshire. Robert Blincoe describes his time at Litton in an account given to commissioners in 1833: He describes the horrors of some mills, Mr. Needham (Master) stands accused of having been in the habit of knocking down apprentices with his clenched fists kicking them about when down, beating them to excess with sticks, or flogging them with horse whips; or seizing them by the ears, lifting them from the ground and forcibly dashing them down on the floor, pinching them til his nails met.Blincoe declares that his oppressors used to seize me by the hair on my head and tear it off by a handful at a time, till the crown of my head had become as bald as the back of my hand. When asked if he sends his children to the factories he says, No, I would rather have them transported. Beatings, though lighter, were still common at Styal. Blincoe goes on to say, I have seen the time when two hand-vices of a pound weight each have been screwed to my ears.Then three or four of us have been hung at once on a cross beam above the machinery, hanging from our hands. Weighting was common: An overseer would tie a heavy weight to a workers neck, and have them walk up and down the factory aisles so the other children could take example. This could last up to an hour. Weighting could often lead to serious injuries in the neck and/or back. Another common punishment for rule breaking was fining. Fining was wide spread. Quarry Bank did fine its workers.Fines were generally small, for small wrong-doings. They were either deducted from a workers salary or paid for by overtime. The most common fining offence was for being late to work; this was common because workers had no way of telling the time accurately. At Quarry Bank, fining was used, and workers were deducted 2 shillings for being late to work, 5 shillings was the price for stealing an apple and 2s/6d for smashing a window at work.Fines were harsh and could leave a worker with little or no salary by the end of the week. Source D, Robert Gregs account of the punishment of Ester Price, seemed liberal compared, Ester Price sat before a magistrate, she then ran away, and when she returned, was confined in the same room. The windows were boarded; partly to prevent her escapeThe room was partially dark. Her food milk and porridge and bread, morning and eveningbut no dinner.This source though is unreliable though due to the bias opinion of Mr. Greg. Realising there comparably good treatment a large percentage of pauper apprentices stayed on after their indentures. This evidence proves that Quarry Bank Mill was not typical when comparing punishments and the general treatment of labouring children. Punishments at Styal more subtle to more aggressive and dangerous methods used to enforce discipline at other mills.The age children started work at factories varied widely. At Quarry Bank Mill, children started from no earlier than nine years old. At Penny Dam Mill in Preston children started employment from as early an age as seven. The youngest children, who werent old enough to operate the machines, were commonly sent to be assistants to textile workers. These workers would beat them, verbally abuse them, and take no consideration for their safety; they would use harsh forms of pain infliction.Samuel Greg employed older children for purely economic reasons, and not moral or religious values: Older children were more reliable and less error prone than younger children. Employing older children, over younger children was good for business. Quarry Bank Mills child labour was more effective than its rivals such as Penny Dam, because older children were more reliable. Quarry Bank Mill was preferable from this point of view as children were less likely to suffer at work from an early age, and their childhoods werent taken away from them, as they were at other more strict mills. But starting work at the age of nine was still difficult and tiresome.The jobs allocated for children were often very dangerous. Children were the smallest members of the workforce and so were often required to worm through operating machines and clean them. At Styal, cleaning was the main work a child would take on, along with scavenging. Scavenging was extremely dangerous and consisted of scuttling between the mule in-operation, and picking up the waste cotton, they need to be very fast as the machines would pull back.This often led to serious injuries and sometimes even death. At other mills, such as the Fielden Brothers Mill in Todmorden, pauper apprentices, as old as seven, would strip the full spools from spinning jennies and replace them with empty ones while the machine was still running, this was even more dangerous. In this aspect the mills were very similar, and only slightly preferable at Styal. Conditions for labouring children working in textile mills in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth were dire when examining what jobs children would be forced to do to earn a living.

Assessing a Company Welness Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Assessing a Company Welness Plan - Essay Example The management should strive to capture the demographic information of all the employees including their medical history and wellness needs. The management should also incorporate the needs of the employee spouses and dependants in the wellness plans in order to attract full participation of all the employees. Cost shifting and reducing the employee benefits in order to provide the wellness programs may attract a lot of resistance from the employees Company wellness plan Introduction Employers are now expected to create safe working environments, improve the employee health and implement programs which reduce the medical costs as well as increase the employee work efficiency (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012). Employers are also expected to meet the workplace health regulations set by the local and State regulatory authorities hence the company wellness plans can be customized to meet these needs. The company wellness plan should include wellness facility planning, health and producti vity plans, executive health programs, employee health improvement plans, on-site health care and worker’s compensation management (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012). ... Customized Company wellness programs are beneficial to the organization and cost effective to the employer (Bray, 2009). Company wellness plans have numerous benefits to both the employers and the employee. The plans result to increased productivity, less absenteeism and reduced disability claims (Bray, 2009). Health promotion in the wellness plan gives the employees a sense of ownership of the program hence they can work together to improve the safety standards in the organization (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012). Tobacco smoking is one of the leading causes of respiratory related diseases hence implementing tobacco cessation programs in the wellness plan can help the company retain most of its skilled employers and reduce the costs associated with recruiting and training new employees. Companies benefit greatly from prevention of violence in the workplace and diversity education since the wellness plans result in economic savings (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012). Obesity and toba cco provoke indirect hazards related to health care hence the company can improve the welfare of the employees by addressing these health challenges. The Company wellness program develops a Company culture of shared beliefs and norms where employees know that they are expected to exhibit a particular healthy behavior and lifestyle (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012). Companies face numerous challenges in implementing the wellness plans. The main challenge is the availability of demographic data of the employees. Companies’ employees comprise different age groups each with unique health needs (Bray, 2009). The company may face challenges in obtaining the disease history of the employees since such information is

Cover Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Cover Letter - Essay Example Taking Microsoft as an example, as competition grows in the business climate the organization outstands and outlasts its arena of competitors by innovating its old ways, transforming itself rightly to adopt cultures fitting to the organizational needs. The purpose of conceptualized organizational change is to gain the competitive advantage over others. What differentiates the learning organization is its adoption of the resources-oriented school of thought. Armed with these thoughts, the organization channeled their resources into their core competence unique to all and not to be copied. According to Peter Senge, learning organizations are organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together (1990:3). Evident of such higher learning organizations has among their members a fundamental shift of mind to create their future. The top leaders function in making the right choices for the organization and learning about the organization requirement in the new view of leadership. The learning organizations directed by their shared values and principles consist of the total collaboration of employees with their collective ideas of making right changes in all process involvements. The organization equips the employees with continued learning opportunities to encourage and provide for the working toward their goals. Learning organizations inquires and dialogues with their people to safely share in open and progressively enrich themselves with more corporate activities. Dialogue is the essential discipline to build in its organization the shared vision and to develop within individuals strong mental models. The learning organizations provide managers and individuals or teams with visualized ideas on how things could

The Dalai Lama And The Tibet Politics Essay

The Dalai Lama And The Tibet Politics Essay General Background: The Tibet is an autonomous region which is located in China and beside Nepal, this region was an independent country in 10th century, but it has suffered many invasions from the Mongol empire until an English invasion. In 1904, a British army gets to the Tibet and in 1906 the Tibet becomes a British protectorate; in 1907 Great Britain and Russia gives sovereignty to China; in 1912, 1931-1933 and in 1949 there are several attempts of Tibets independence. The Dalai Lama has been involved in this problem since 1904 when he was exiled in Mongolia, since this date he has been promoting the liberalization of the Tibet. Since 1949 that China invaded the Tibet there has been a loss of the Tibets liberty by the communist ideology of China, since this year China gave the power to the Dalai Lama in terms of internal issues but education and culture is managed by China. China and Tibet have had several disputes through many years because of the want of the Tibet for independence and the want of China of the Tibet as a definite region of China and the Dalai Lama has been affected by this conflict because he is a pacific mediator and has lost his credibility. The Dalai Lama as a politic figure does not recognize: the social system, the Tibet as a part of a Chinese territory, he insists in making The Tibet an independent republic and take out any person who is not a Tibetan citizen. This situation is a conflict, not only because it is a long term issue but also because it has involved a lot of persons and it has been difficult to find a solution to the problem. Since the conflict starts, around 1900-1907 with the invasion of the Tibet by United kingdom and China and continue escalation all the XX Century, this conflict has involved a lot of Chinas generations and Tibets generations, now the kids of both regions not only know the conflict, but also are determined to fight for the specific objectives that each region has. This conflict has a lot of issues that apparently are not able to negotiate: the different cultures of the regions are the protagonist (parties) of the conflict, and like every culture around the world they are trying to protect their believes and values as hard as possible, no one wants to negotiate even a custom. This issue has faced some of the most important people in the history, Mao Tse Tung and Dalai Lama, both with no congruent objectives what made so difficult a negotiation between them. The conflict starts not only by a land interest but also cultural affairs en which both sides dont want to give a step back in order to protect their culture and their sovereignty, unfortunately this has caused a lot of damage in the region, a lot of violent deaths. Human Rights organizations estimate that a many more than 1 million people lost their lives, and also that a lot more than 100,000 people are living in exile in India, Nepal and other countries; frustration in some people who want to protect their family and rancour (Ill feeling). The above confirms the affirmation that the Tibets conflict is a cultural derived problem: as it was told before, the parties are trying to protect their cultural and economic believes, but also each leader has entered the game to protect their own thoughts and culture with which he was raised There are many perceptions in this conflict; China argues that Tibet is part of china since hundreds of years, because of the dynastic unions between them and the conquerors made by China through history. This contrasts with the argument that gives the Tibet that China has controlled them using the force and has imposed them his traditions also the Tibet views China as a different country with its own traditions. Tibet civilians feel that the China government does not respect them and that they are treated in a different way than the China civilians are treated. This conflict is intractable now that Tibet and China have had strong discussions and wars, both have suffered many deaths because of this and there still exists a conflict of values and customs between both, in spite of the fact that many countries have gotten its independence either in pacific or horrible ways since the Tibet doesnt have the support of the strong countries nor NGOs it is really complicated for it to get to its main objective. In a future the conflict could be tractable if they start to develop a good international relationship and try to find a way to solve their differences and get to a win-win situation. This conflict is systemic now that it involves more than two parties, there have been third parties involved such as Great Britain, Nepal, Mongolia and nowadays United States is mediating. Also, there have been several issues such as geographical, resource issues, ideological issues and custom issues. There are three main sources of the conflict: conflict of interests and values because both have the same interests but here comes the goal conflicts which are different, while China wants the Tibet to be part of his domain, the Tibet wants freedom. This conflict is presented in an intergroup level of organization now that it is between China as a whole and the Tibet as a whole and having the Dalai Lama as a mediator but more towards defending Tibet. A big problem is that in spite of the fact that there are two distinguished parties; one is inside the other one, because Tibet is located in the south west of Chinas territory. Stages Latent conflict: the conflict started to appear when Great Britain and Russia give the sovereignty over Tibet to China, because since then China has the government of Tibet, controls almost all the factors that influence the region. Conflict emergence: Dalai Lama had had the government of Tibet for a while and the Chinas army made an invasion where Tibet was forced to face the direct loss of life and freedom. Escalation: Dalai Lama was ruling in parallel with Chinese government but when Tibetan territory was considered a Chinese province, there was developed a rebellion against China. Chinas army killed a lot of Tibetans so Dalai Lama had to escape to India. This conflict reached an escalated form because several characteristics, among them are the constant search for independence from Tibet, the disrespect of human rights for Tibetans, coalition of ideologies (Tibetans are against communist ideology or social system) and the principal is that China is not willing to lose Tibet because that land is very rich in minerals. In general there are a lot of issues in terms of politics, the nature of society, law, human rights, religion, culture, the identity of people, the economy, and the state of the natural environment. The condition that most encouraged this escalation was that China killed a lot of people and its trying to impose communism, and by the other side, China sees Tibetan religion as a big threat to the communist party so they dont let Tibetans to act against their principles and Tibetans dont want to accept them because their unique leader is Dalai Lama and rightness is what Buddhism establishes. This escalation is considered a rational action because there have been simultaneous activities that have encouraged this conflict, Dalai Lama and Tibetans are defending their culture, religion and territory, and China is reacting to Tibet rejection to its ideologies and is not willing to lose this land. Both parties tend to use distributive strategies because they look for keeping the same territory and their own ideologies so their motivations and interests are incompatible, where a win-lose situation takes place, for example, Tibetans ideal situation is having freedom, being directed by Dalai Lama and the right to develop their own religion and culture not the ones that Chinese government is imposing them, so they use strategies like claiming for peaceful negotiation and agreements to get to a deal where they can get the so called Tibetan independence, but instead, China uses stronger strategies like invasion and imposition. This conflict is being managed in the way that there have been some temporal agreements that are good for both and help maintaining peace but sometimes they have been disrupted by one of the two parties. Nowadays, Dalai Lama has a government in exile, hes directing Tibet from the outside but Tibetans and he will fight until he can get back to his motherland and reach independence. The conflict is mainly of competitive nature since both territories are fighting over the domain of the Tibet. They are trying to earn international trust and support from other countries to each one of them get to its goals and interests. This is why it is a continuous competition. Is there any trust within the parties? To answer this question we have to say the types of trust that we know: The identification based trust, and the calculus based trust. So the first one is inexistent in the conflict, because this kind of trust is based on the identification with the other since you have the same goals, interests, meetings, activities and other things (in common), and it is evidential that the Chinese government and the Tibetan population have different interests, goals and activities, for example: the Goal of the Chinese government is to control The Tibet, and the goal of the Tibetan is to control herself. So according to the latest, there is one trust yet, the calculus based trust,   this one is the one in which you analyze the possible rewards or punishment that you will have if you trust the other. As well as the Identification based trust, the calculus based trust is inexistent too, why?, it is because of the continuous attacks made by the Chinese and Tibetan , government and population respectively, so both motivated by the past have a perception in which they won`t trust each other, because they have been punished in the past. We think that they in the future can trust each other, but the first step to do it is by the calculus based trust, they have to be concern that they are causing problems to both sides so they have to create this calculus based trust by no attacking the other, by accomplishing what they say and finally negotiate about this conflict in a problem solving way, and maybe in a far future they can have an identification based trust. If a specific tactic is scheduled as unethical, it will depend of the ethical approach: for example, it could be said that the military massacre that occurred in 1959 by the hands of China is ethical if we analyze the issue in an End result way, but if we analyze it in Social contract way (Point of view of the countries outside the conflict) it will be said that is totally unethical. Based and the Social Contract analysis, it has been unethical tactics for both parties: China has invaded and killed in the Tibet area, also China has tried to create a bad reputation of the Dalai Lama. By the Tibet side, it can be said that some militia has used the force, and there are some comments about the manipulation that Dalai Lama could do through culture and regional feelings (emotional manipulation). The conflict had some negotiations, for example in 1950, China -commanded by Mao Tse Tung- entered to the Tibet with 40000 soldiers, this attack impose to the Tibetan leaders to accept a an alliance called Agree of 17 points, in which the communist leaders of China and the leaders of the Tibet, agreed in the restoration of the China`s sovereignty in Tibet, this alliance was signed in May of 1951. According to this we can conclude that the Chinese government had negotiated, and in this negotiation the Chinese government put his interests over the Tibetan population using his power to dominate them, so is a domination style. CONCLUSION The conflict between China and the Tibet comes since hundreds of years, across the history the Tibet has done revolutions to be free and China has made campaigns to dominate the Tibet , and fewer times that China has negotiated, China has used a dominated style (win-lose situation), the winner has been China, who is the owner of Tibet. The Dalai Lama, leader of the Tibet is hidden on India, he had been attacked by China with a bad-image campaign, and the China government is discriminating the Tibetans population, China puts his interests over the Tibet interests. China has some interests on the Tibet like the geopolitical strategy -The Tibet has a lot of natural resources that China is interested in-, the power, the cultural issues and the imposition of socialism.

Physical health Essay

As shown in Table 4, physical health is an important contributing factor towards well-being of the elderly. The administrators (83%) noticed that enjoying physical mobility, having good food and accommodation, and efficient medical care facilities seemed to be contributing toward their well-being. About 50% of the administrators observed that the elderly’ recreational activities and physical exercise were also important aspects that contributed toward their total well-being. To espouse the findings presented above: They speak happily about Gladys Spellman’s accommodation, its quiet environment, and the medical facilities available. Most of them are happy about the food served. Actually the food is good and they go for taste and it is difficult for them to follow the diet. To make them happy give them good food. Half the complains or dissatisfaction will be taken care of, this is our observation. The most important thing is their physical condition. Though age related illness is there, all are physically independent now except one person who is partially dependent. Most of them say that they want to die before they become bed-ridden. All are aware of the need to take care of their health. Some do regular exercises, some do gardening†¦a few go for long walks and few other just walk on the roofed pavements connecting different structures. And others say that they are tired and cannot/don’t want to do such things†¦. Autonomy/Freedom The administrators (100%) reported that the atmosphere of freedom in the home gives the elderly a sense of power and self-worth. In their perception, the feeling of being respected and treated as adults, gave a sense of worth and personal power. According to 50% of them, need for privacy and non-intrusion was important to the elderly. Rules are not imposed and they have minimum external restrictions. This has given the inmates maximum internal freedom in some sense of the term. And they respond well by using their freedom responsibly. Thank God we don’t have to discipline them at this age†¦they do it on their own. Though they are friendly and cordial the elderly prefer small groups and †¦apparently there is lot of communication among the members in each unit. They help one another when needed†¦sharing about their personal life seem to be difficult for them†¦they don’t like to be intruded upon†¦they want to keep their private world to their own. Money/Income As indicated in Table 4, all the members of administration (100%) were of the opinion that money gave a sense of security to the elderly. They (83%) further noticed that it provided a sense of power, independence and personal pride. The elderly in general were also found to be money conscious and attached to money. The following statement would explicate the findings in the study: They have a sense of security when they have money with them†¦and they don’t part with or share it but hold on to that†¦. may be when we become old we have a tendency to hold on what we have†¦ Want to be in control†¦ money is power. There are also people who among the elderly do not attach much importance to money and they are generous with the money. For example, the underground chapel is built by just one person’s donation. And there are people who sponsor poor students†¦and the like.

Price Elasticity to Identify a Brand’s Competitors Essay

Firms today are in their perspective industries to maximize consumer satisfaction, increase revenue, and shareholders profits. These tasks require attention to detail when pricing their products. There are always competitors lurking and waiting by the wayside to gain market share and a competitive advantage. When identifying brands competitors, price elasticity is a major determinant. Demand for a product or service constitutes what the company’s price will be and whether the price will be higher or lower than the competitor’s price. In terms of the elasticity, price increases may decrease demand and price decreases may increase demand. However, according to Kotler, The introduction or change of any price may initiate a response (favorable or unfavorable) from customers and competitors† (Kotler, P. and Keller, K., 2012) Ultimately, the concept of price elasticity can identify a brand’s competitors along with marketing research to identify consumer needs, wants, and desires, as well as current industry and competitor’s going- rate pricing. Reference Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2012). Marketing Management 14E. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc. How might marketers use conjoint analysis to improve pricing strategies? When determining pricing strategies marketers must perform research that allows the consumer to voice their opinions in reference to what they need and how important the product or service is to their well-being. One method of doing so is through conjoint analysis. â€Å"Kotler defines this method as a  means to ask customers to rank their preferences for alternative market offerings or concepts, then they use statistic analysis to estimate the implicit value placed on each attribute† (Kotler, P. and Keller, K., 2012). Marketers have their work cut out for them when a firm or pricing department requests their assistance to establish a competitive advantage for their product or service. In order for a firm to know and understand what value or benefits the customer expects when utilizing their products and services the use value propositions is of the essence. According to the strategy and performance coaching company Edborrows,† items that firms need to consider when applying customer value propositions are as follows: †¢ All Benefits – †¢ Favorable Points of Differentiation – †¢ Resonating Focus †¢ Resonating focus highlights one or two critical differences between the firm’s offerings †¢ Generic Value Propositions †¢ Operational Excellence †¢ Customer Intimacy †¢ Product/Service Innovation (Barrows, 2010) Price elasticity of demand is a way to determine marginal revenue. Optimal revenue and, more importantly, optimal profit will occur to the point when marginal revenue = marginal cost, or the price elasticity of demand The proportion of the total sales of a product secured by one particular company or brand

Biography of James K. Polk, 11th US President

James K. Polk was president during the Mexican American War and the era of Manifest Destiny. Learn more about the 11th president of the United States. James K. Polks Childhood and Education James K. Polk was born on November 2, 1795, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He moved with his family at the age of ten to Tennessee. He was a sickly youth who suffered from gallstones. Polk did not begin his formal education until 1813 at the age of 18. By 1816, he entered the University of North Carolina and graduated with honors in 1818. He decided to enter politics and also was admitted to the bar. Family Ties Polks father was Samuel, a planter and landowner who was also a friend of  Andrew Jackson. His mother was  Jane Knox. They had been married on Christmas Day in 1794. His mother was a staunch Presbyterian. He had five brothers and four sisters, many of whom died young. On January 1, 1824, Polk married Sarah Childress. She was  well-educated and wealthy. While first lady, she banned dancing and liquor from the White House. Together, they had no children. James K. Polks Career Before the Presidency Polk had focused on politics his whole life. He was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives (1823-25). From 1825-39, he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives including serving as its speaker from 1835-39. He was a great ally and supporter of Andrew Jackson. From 1839-41, Polk became Governor of Tennessee. Becoming President In 1844, the Democrats were having a difficult time getting the necessary 2/3 of the vote to nominate a candidate. On the 9th ballot, James K. Polk who had only been considered as a Vice Presidential candidate was nominated. He was the first dark-horse nominee. He was opposed by Whig candidate Henry Clay. The campaign centered around the idea of annexation of Texas which Polk supported and Clay opposed. Polk received 50% of the popular vote and won 170 out of 275 electoral votes. Events and Accomplishments as President James K. Polks  time in office was eventful. In 1846, he agreed to fix the boundary of the Oregon territory at the 49th parallel. Great Britain and the United States disagreed about who claimed the territory. The Oregon Treaty meant that Washington and  Oregon  would be a territory of the U.S. and Vancouver would belong to Great Britain. Much of Polks time in office was taken up with the  Mexican War  which lasted from 1846-1848. The annexation of Texas which had taken place at the end of  John Tylers time in office hurt relations between Mexico and America. Further, the border between the two countries was still disputed. The U.S. felt that the border should be set at the Rio Grande River. When Mexico would not agree, Polk prepared for war. He ordered General  Zachary Taylor  to the area. In April 1846, Mexican troops fired on the U.S. troops in the area. Polk used this to push forward a Declaration of War against Mexico. In February 1847, Taylor was able to defeat the Mexican army led by  Santa Anna. By March 1847, U.S. troops occupied Mexico City. Concurrently in January 1847, Mexican troops were defeated in California. In February 1848, the  Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo  was signed  ending the war. By this treaty, the border was fixed at the Rio Grande. By this means, the U.S. gained California and Nevada amongst other present-day territories amounting to over 500,000 square miles of land. In exchange, the U.S. agreed to pay Mexico $15 million for the territory. This agreement reduced the size of Mexico to half of its former size. Post Presidential Period Polk had announced before taking office that he would not seek a second term. He did retire at the end of his term. However, he did not live much past that date. He died only three months later, possibly from Cholera. Historical Significance After Thomas Jefferson, James K. Polk increased the size of the United States more than any other president through the acquisition of California and New Mexico as a result of the Mexican-American War. He also claimed Oregon Territory after a treaty with England. He was a key figure in Manifest Destiny. He was also an extremely effective leader during the Mexican-American War. He is considered to be the best one-term president.