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Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland (b. on March 18, 1837, in Caldwell, New Jersey) was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. He served from 1885 to 1889, and from 1893 to 1897. He died in 1908 at the age of 71.
Cleveland was a member of the Democratic Party. His vice presidents were Thomas A. Hendricks (1885) and Adlai Stevenson I (1893-1897). Cleveland's presidency coincided with the surrender of Geronimo and the end of the Apache Wars, as well as the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. He is the only American president to serve two non-consecutive terms. In his first term, Cleveland became the first president to be married in the White House.[1]
Prior to serving as president, Cleveland served as the 28th Governor of New York and the 34th Mayor of Buffalo, New York.
Biography
Timeline of life events
Below is an abbreviated outline of Cleveland's professional and political career:[1]
- 1837: Born in Caldwell, New Jersey
- 1855: Moved to Buffalo, New York, where he began to study law
- 1859: Passed the New York bar exam without a formal degree
- 1871: Took office as the Sheriff of Erie County, New York[2]
- 1881: Elected Mayor of Buffalo
- 1882: Elected Governor of New York
- 1884: Elected President of the United States
- 1886: Married Frances Folsom in the Blue Room at the White House
- 1888: Lost re-election to Benjamin Harrison (R)
- 1890: The Mckinley Tariff was passed by Congress under Harrison, inspiring Cleveland to protest
- 1891: Daughter Ruth Cleveland was born
- 1892: Elected President of the United States for the second time
- 1908: Died after suffering a heart attack at the age of 71
Before the presidency
Stephen Grover Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey on March 18, 1837, to Ann and Richard Falley Cleveland. His father was an ordained minister in the Congregational Church before his birth, and later a parish priest in the Presbyterian Church. Grover was the fifth of nine children. His father died when he was 16, forcing him to abandon higher education and begin working to support the family.
While working as a clerk at a prestigious law firm in Buffalo, he studied law in his free time and was admitted to the New York bar in 1859. In 1862 he left the firm and started his own legal practice. As the Civil War intensified, Congress passed the Conscription Act of 1863, forcing all male citizens age 20-45 to enlist or hire a substitute to serve in their place. Cleveland hired Polish immigrant George Brinski as his substitute for $150 and avoided participation in the conflict.[3]
In 1865 Cleveland made his first bid for elected office, running as the Democratic Party candidate for district attorney of Erie County, but lost in a close contest.[4] In 1871 he was elected the Sheriff of Erie County, again running as a Democrat, and held that position until he became a candidate for Mayor of Buffalo in 1881. Cleveland campaigned as an honest candidate in a field viewed as corrupt by many voters in Buffalo. Having developed a reputation for fighting corruption during his time as sheriff, he was elected in what many saw as a rebuke to the city's political machine; only one local newspaper opposed Cleveland.[4] This reputation spread outside of Buffalo and in 1882 he was elected Governor of New York touting the slogan "Public office is a public trust," only a year after being elected mayor.[4]
In 1884, the Democratic Party saw the perceived corruption in government and the questionable dealings of the Republican presidential candidate as an opportunity to win the White House for the first time since 1856. Joseph Pulitzer's New York World endorsed Cleveland for the reasons, "1. He is an honest man. 2. He is an honest man. 3. He is an honest man. 4. He is an honest man."[5] This reputation helped earn him the Democratic nomination and victory in a close election with 48.9% of the popular vote and 219 electoral votes.[6]
Presidency
Cleveland's first term was marked by his opposition to special favors for any economic group. His political philosophy was evident in his vetoing of a bill aimed at distributing seed grain to drought-stricken Texan farmers. He wrote, "Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character. . . " He exercised veto power a record-breaking 584 times.[1][6]
Cleveland was known as an anti-imperialist and opposed the annexation of Hawaii and a coup to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy.[1] When Great Britain refused to accept arbitration on a border dispute with Venezuela, Cleveland invoked an interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine which aggressively forbid new European colonies, a posture viewed by the British as a direct threat of war.[6][7]
In 1886, Cleveland married his ward, Frances Folsom, the daughter of his deceased Buffalo law partner.[1] Theirs was the first and only presidential wedding held in the White House.
He made efforts in 1887 to compel Congress to reduce high protective tariffs. When he was told by advisers that by doing so he may have given the Republican Party an issue with which to campaign against him, he replied, "What is the use of being elected or re-elected unless you stand for something?"[6]
In 1888 he won the popular vote but lost re-election in the electoral college to Benjamin Harrison (R). In 1891, the passage of the McKinley Tariff and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act under Harrison compelled Cleveland to once again speak out against protectionism and in favor of sound money[8] He campaigned a third time on these principles and became the first President to serve two non-consecutive terms by winning 277 electoral votes in the 1892 election.
Cleveland's second term was marked by acute economic depression and the Panic of 1893. Rather than bailing out individual businesses and sectors, he focused directly on the crisis in the Treasury. He successfully repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and, with the help of J.P. Morgan and Wall Street, maintained the Treasury's gold reserves.[6]. His refusal to budge on his economic principles was unpopular in the Democratic Party, and William Jennings Bryan (D) was nominated in the 1896 election on a free silver platform.[9].
Personal
Cleveland was married to Frances Folsom Cleveland from 1896 until his death, caused by a heart attack, in 1908. They had five children, including "Baby" Ruth Cleveland, the first child born to the wife of a sitting U.S. president.
Elections
1892 presidential election
In 1892, Cleveland defeated Benjamin Harrison (R) in the general election for the United States presidency.
| U.S. presidential election, 1892 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | Benjamin Harrison/Whitelaw Reid Incumbent | 43.1% | 5,190,799 | 145 | |
| Democratic |  Grover Cleveland/Adlai Stevenson |
46.1% | 5,553,898 | 277 | |
| Populist | James Weaver/James Field | 8.5% | 1,026,595 | 22 | |
| Prohibition | John Bidwell/John Brooks | 2.2% | 270,889 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 12,042,181 | 444 | |||
| Election results via: 1892 official election results | |||||
1888 presidential election
In 1888, Cleveland was defeated by Benjamin Harrison (R) in the general election for the United States presidency.
| U.S. presidential election, 1888 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | Benjamin Harrison/Levi Morton |
47.8% | 5,443,633 | 233 | |
| Democratic | Grover Cleveland/Allen Thurman Incumbent | 48.7% | 5,538,163 | 168 | |
| Prohibition | Clinton Fisk/John Brooks | 2.2% | 250,017 | 0 | |
| Union Labor | Alson Streeter/Charles Cunningham | 1.3% | 149,115 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 11,380,928 | 401 | |||
| Election results via: 1888 official election results | |||||
1884 presidential election
In 1884, Cleveland defeated James G. Blaine (R) in the general election for the United States presidency.
| U.S. presidential election, 1884 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Grover Cleveland/Thomas Hendricks |
48.9% | 4,914,482 | 219 | |
| Republican | James Blaine/John Logan | 48.3% | 4,856,903 | 182 | |
| Prohibition | John St. John/William Daniel | 1.5% | 150,890 | 0 | |
| Greenback | Benjamin Butler/Absolom West | 1.3% | 134,294 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 10,056,569 | 401 | |||
| Election results via: 1884 official election results | |||||
State of the Union addresses
Every year in office, the president of the United States addresses Congress on the present state of affairs as well as the administration's goals for the coming year.[10] Following are transcripts from Cleveland's State of the Union addresses.
- December 8, 1885
- December 6, 1886
- December 6, 1887
- December 3, 1888
- December 4, 1893
- December 3, 1894
- December 8, 1895
- December 7, 1896
See also
- Chester Arthur
- Benjamin Harrison
- William McKinley
- New York
- Federal judges nominated by Grover Cleveland
External links
- Presidential Library and Museum website
- Official White House biography
- C-Span video on the Cleveland presidency
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Biography.com, "Grover Cleveland," accessed May 22, 2018
- ↑ Erie.gov, "Erie County Sheriff's Office", accessed May 23, 2018
- ↑ Poloniatrail.com, "Grave of George Brinski," accessed May 24th, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Western New York History, "Grover Cleveland in Buffalo", accessed May 24, 2018
- ↑ The Boston Globe, "‘Grover the good’ — the most honest president of them all", February 15, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Whitehouse.gov, "Grover Cleveland," accessed June 5, 2018
- ↑ {http://www.guyana.org/features/trail_diplomacy_pt2.html Guyana.org "A Trail Of DIplomacy," accessed June 5, 2018]
- ↑ University of Groningen, "Grover Cleveland, Message on the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act August 8 1893," accessed June 5, 2018
- ↑ Economic History Association, "The Depression of 1893, accessed June 5, 2018
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The President’s State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications," January 24, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Chester Arthur (R) |
President of the United States 1885-1889, 1893-1897 |
Succeeded by William McKinley (R) |
| |||||||
