William Hawkins Polk (May 24, 1815 – December 16, 1862) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 6th congressional district from 1851 to 1853. He was the younger brother of President James K. Polk. Prior to his election to Congress, he had been a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives (1841–1845), served as U.S. Minister to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1845–1847), and fought as a major in the Mexican–American War.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Polk supported the Union. He ran for Governor of Tennessee in 1861, but lost to the secessionist incumbent, Isham G. Harris.
Early life
Polk was born in Maury County, Tennessee, the ninth of ten children of Samuel Polk (1772–1827) and Jane (Knox) Polk (1776–1852). He attended the public schools of Columbia, and the University of North Carolina in 1832 and 1833. He graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1839, and commenced practice in Columbia.
Polk engaged in reckless behavior as a youth that his family found troubling. He was described as a spendthrift prone to "extravagance" and "light amusements." A letter from his brother, James K. Polk, warned him, "you are getting into habits that must inevitably destroy you."
In 1838, William H. Polk killed Robert Hayes, a young Nashville lawyer, following an altercation at the Nelson House in Columbia. The two had apparently been arguing when Polk insulted Hayes, and Hayes responded by throwing a cup at Polk. Polk then obtained a whip and lashed Hayes with it, prompting Hayes to flee. Shortly afterward, Hayes attempted to ambush Polk with a derringer, but his lone shot missed. Polk drew his own gun and returned fire, killing Hayes. Polk was tried for murder, but convicted of lesser charges of assault, and sentenced to six weeks in jail and a $750 fine. He was defended at trial by his brother's former law partner, Gideon Pillow.
Polk was elected to Maury County's seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1841. His brother, the incumbent governor, had been defeated for reelection that same year. William H. Polk was reelected to a second term in 1843.
Ambassadorship
On March 13, 1845, William H. Polk was appointed chargé d'affaires to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies by his brother, who had just been elected president. After being brought up to speed on conditions in the kingdom by the new Secretary of State, James Buchanan, Polk arrived in Naples, the kingdom's capital, on July 18, 1845, and was received by the Prince of Scilla, the kingdom's foreign affairs minister, on July 24. Throughout his brief term, Polk would rely on the advice of longtime U.S. Consul to Naples, Alexander Hammett.
Polk's primary goal was to negotiate a commercial treaty that would allow the United States to trade with the kingdom on the same terms as Britain, France, and Spain, whose imports to the kingdom received lower tariff rates. Three attempts to negotiate such a treaty—the first by Auguste Davezac in 1833, the second by Enos Throop in 1838, and the third by Polk's predecessor, William Boulware, in 1841—had all failed. Hammett had warned Polk that the kingdom was very protective of its Naples tobacco market, leaving Polk concerned that a treaty might not be possible unless he offered a quid pro quo for the tobacco tariff reductions. Buchanan instructed Polk to focus on obtaining any treaty, no matter how minimal, that would put the U.S. on an equal footing with Britain, France and Spain.
Treaty negotiations began on November 28, 1845, with Polk meeting with the representatives of King Ferdinand II: Don Giustino Fortunato, Don Michele Gravina, and Don Antonio Spinelli. An agreement was reached after three days, and a copy of the proposed treaty was transmitted to Washington on December 1. While the treaty wasn't as favorable as the U.S. had hoped, it did outline rules regarding duties on tonnage and purchase imports, and rights regarding navigation, shipwrecks, movement of citizens, and asylum. The treaty was ratified in April 1846. It remained in effect until a new treaty was negotiated by the Pierce Administration in 1855.
In a January 1847 dispatch, Polk warned of deteriorating conditions in the kingdom, some of which would fuel the political upheavals of the following year. He reported the failure of the year's grain crop, and noted this would certainly cause an increase in food prices, which were already high. He also reported growing restlessness and anti-Bourbon sentiment among the kingdom's lower classes. He suggested the United States might boost its image by providing increased food shipments to Western Europe.