Leonidas Lafayette Polk (April 24, 1837 – June 11, 1892), or L.L. Polk, was an American farmer, journalist and political figure. He was a leader of the

Farmers' Alliance The Farmers' Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement among American farmers that developed and flourished ca. 1875. The movement included several parallel but independent political organizations — the National Farmers' Alliance and ...

and helped found the Populist Party.

Life and career

Polk was born in

Anson County, North Carolina Anson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,055. Its county seat is Wadesboro. History The county was formed in 1750 from Bladen County. It was named for George Anson, Ba ...

. He fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

for the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

, and was wounded at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

. Returning to North Carolina after the war, Polk founded the town of Polkton, incorporated in 1875, where he started a weekly newspaper called '' The Ansonian''. Through it he advocated for farmers and for the Grange movement. Polk, a distant relative of President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

, became active in state politics, serving in the North Carolina House of Representatives and as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1865–66. In 1877, he was appointed the first

North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture The Commissioner of Agriculture is a statewide elected office in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The commissioner is a constitutional officer who serves as the head of the state's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which is res ...

and served until 1880. An agricultural collection he established as Commissioner was the basis for what became the

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) is the largest museum of its kind in the Southeastern United States. It is the oldest established museum in North Carolina, located in Raleigh. In 2013, it had about 1.2 million visitors, and i ...

. Polk returned to journalism by founding the ''

Progressive Farmer ''Progressive Farmer'' is an agricultural magazine, published 14 times a year by DTN. The magazine is based in Birmingham, Alabama. History Founded in Winston, North Carolina, in 1886 by North Carolina native Leonidas Lafayette Polk (1837–18 ...

'' in 1886 in Winston. The magazine is still published to this day. At first, the paper's primary aim was to teach new agricultural methods, but soon it also focused on politics. Meanwhile, Polk was also active in the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

church, once serving as president of the

Baptist State Convention of North Carolina The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC) is an autonomous association of Baptist churches in the state of North Carolina. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Headquartered in Cary, North ...

. Polk was instrumental in establishing the North Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical College and Baptist Female University. In the late 1880s, Polk rose to nationwide prominence through his leadership of the state and national

, which had begun in Texas. He became its national vice president in 1887 and its president in 1889. These words, spoken in 1887, were typical of Polk's rhetoric: "Our farmers buy everything to raise cotton, and raise cotton to buy everything, and, after going through this treadmill business for years, they lie down and die and leave their families penniless." The Alliance's mixed record under traditional two-party politics paved the way for the Populist Party, or People's Party. Polk presided over the meeting in February 1892 that formally created the party. The Populists likely would have nominated Polk for president in 1892 (see 1892 U.S. presidential election), but he died unexpectedly from a hemorrhaging bladder in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

on June 11, 1892.

Legacy

Polk was one of the first inductees into the North Carolina Agricultural Hall of Fame. His home in Raleigh is today owned by the state of North Carolina. It was moved on Nov. 12, 2000, to its new location on Blount Street in Raleigh. The Leonidas LaFayette Polk House Foundation plans to use part of the house for the Polk Museum. The rest will be used for state offices. The Leonidas L. Polk House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1977. Polk Hall at North Carolina State University was named in his honor.

References

Notes Bibliography
Biography
from the North Carolina Agricultural Hall of Fame website

an article from the

website
North Carolina History Project biography
an April 22, 1890 speech by Polk, from a UNC website * Powell, William S. ''North Carolina: A History''. 1988. pp. 173–175. Further reading * Noblin, Stuart. "Leonidas Lafayette Polk and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture: Part I: The Genesis of the Department." ''North Carolina Historical Review'' 20.2 (1943): 103-121
online
** Noblin, Stuart. "Leonidas Lafayette Polk and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture: Part Ii: Polk as Commissioner of Agriculture." ''North Carolina Historical Review'' 20.3 (1943): 197-218. * Noblin, Stuart. ''Leonidas LaFayette Polk, Agrarian Crusader'' (1949)

External links

Guide to the Polk Family Papers 1850-1961
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, Leonidas Lafayette North Carolina Commissioners of Agriculture 1837 births 1892 deaths People from Polkton, North Carolina Farmers from North Carolina Burials at Historic Oakwood Cemetery Confederate States Army soldiers American publishers (people) 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) North Carolina State University people Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Leonidas Lafayette American agrarianists Meredith College people 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American politicians