Download or read book A Country of Vast Designs written by Robert W. Merry and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-11-02 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the one-term presidency of James K. Polk, during which the United States extended its territory across the continent by threatening England and manufacturing a controversial war with Mexico that Abraham Lincoln opposed.