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Legislature Gives Final Approval To Moving James K. Polk

Posted at 10:54 PM, Apr 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-12 23:54:50-04

Nearly 170 years after President James K. Polk died, the Tennessee Legislature is urging that his remains be exhumed and taken to a fourth resting place - but it might take a while longer before the shovels hit the ground.

It took more than a year of fighting over the remains of American's 11th president, but the Tennessee Senate on Thursday agreed to the House version of a resolution recommending that Polk be moved yet again.

Polk died of cholera in 1849. His body was moved twice in the 1800s. His remains and those of his wife, Sarah, are currently on the grounds of the Tennessee Capitol.

Two state agencies and a court still would have to approve moving the remains to the Polk museum, about 50 miles away.