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'''Stephen Grover Cleveland''' was the 22nd and 24th [[President of the United States of America]], and was unique in that he was the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms.  He was elected in 1884, defeated for reelection in 1888, then elected to a second term in 1892. Cleveland was the only [[Democrat]] elected president between [[James Buchanan]] in 1856 and [[Woodrow Wilson]] in 1812.   

'''Stephen Grover Cleveland''' was the 22nd and 24th [[President of the United States of America]], and was unique in that he was the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms.  He was elected in 1884, defeated for reelection in 1888, then elected to a second term in 1892. Cleveland was the only [[Democrat]] elected president between [[James Buchanan]] in 1856 and [[Woodrow Wilson]] in 1812.   

In the 21st century some conservatives praise his values. Cleveland supported the gold standard and lower tariffs, and opposed imperialism, corruption, patronage, vetrans' pensions, high taxes and silver-based inflation. It has been said that Cleveland was the last small government president the Democrats ever elected. <ref>Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen, "A Patriot's History of the United States" (Sentinel 2007)</ref>

Cleveland was best known in his time for his honesty and courage, his leadership of the business-oriented [[Bourbon Democrats]],  and his opposition to the leftist forces that were overwhelming the Democratic party.  In the 21st century some conservatives praise his values. Cleveland supported the gold standard and lower tariffs, and opposed imperialism, corruption, patronage, veterans' pensions, high taxes and silver-based inflation. It has been said that Cleveland was the last small government president the Democrats ever elected. <ref>Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen, "A Patriot's History of the United States" (Sentinel 2007)</ref>

Cleveland's first term (1885-1889) was uneventful, but his second term (1893-97) was fillled with economic crises and political upheavals. Cleveland was famous for breaking the Pullman strike of 1894, which was paralyzing much of the nationaal transportation grid west of Detroit.  He was repudiated by his Democratic Party in 1896, as it nominated [[William Jennings bryan]] in 1896, 1900 and 1908; Bryan lost each time.  However the Democrats nominated Clevand supporters Alton Parker in 1804 (he lost), and Wilson in 1912 (he won).  

Cleveland's first term (1885-1889) was uneventful, but his second term (1893-97) was fillled with economic crises and political upheavals. Cleveland was famous for breaking the Pullman strike of 1894, which was paralyzing much of the nationaal transportation grid west of Detroit.  He was repudiated by his Democratic Party in 1896, as it nominated [[William Jennings Bryan]] in 1896, 1900 and 1908; Bryan lost each time.  However the Democrats nominated Cleveland supporters Alton Parker in 1804 (he lost), and Wilson in 1912 (he won).  

==Early Days==

==Early Career ==

Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey on March 18, 1837. <ref>[Encyclopedia of Presidents, Grover Cleveland, by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1988.</ref> He had five brothers and four sisters. His father was a [[Presbyterian]] clergyman, and moved around a lot. His second brother was hanged for murder in Utah in 1882.

Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey on March 18, 1837; he had five brothers and four sisters. His father Richard Falley Cleveland was a Yale graduate and a [[Presbyterian]] clergyman, of Yankee descent. Cleveland's Puritan ancestors had moved to Massachusetts from England in 1635. Grover's mother, Ann Neal Cleveland, was the daughter of a Baltimore publisher. In 1841 the parents moved to Fayetteville, N.Y., and later to Clinton, N.Y., where Richard Cleveland died in 1853. Young Grover Cleveland was a mediocre student; he graduated from high school but never attended college. He worked for a time in a general store and then in an asylum for the blind. He moved to the growing lake city of Buffalo, N.Y. clerked in a law office and after a few years of tutorials was admitted to the Buffalo bar in 1859. He was the chief support for his widowed mother, so when he was drafted during the Civil War he hired a substitute; it later proved a political embarrassment.  

He avoided the draft in the [[Civil War]] by hiring somebody else to take his place.

Cleveland, a democrat active in local affairs, in 1863 was appointed assistant district attorney of Erie County, N.Y., which included the city of Buffalo. In 1865 he lost the election for District Attorney and became a partner in a private law practice, earning an about $10,000 a year (triple the average for lawyers).  In 1871 he was elected Erie County sheriff and established a reputation as an honest and capable public official. In 1881, as the reform candidate for mayor of Buffalo, Cleveland was easily elected. He instituted numerous reforms, emphasizing efficiency and economy in his administration. Friends called him the "veto mayor" because of his repeated use of the veto power to slow the spending by the city council.

The election of 1884 saw a very close contest that turned on the electoral vote of New York. Cleveland crusaded against the corruptions represented by long-time Washington insider [[James G, Blaine]], the GOP candidate. The discovery that Cleveland -- a bachelor--was paying child support gave the GOP a moralistic issue of its own. Blaine had made inroads into the Irish Catholic vote, normally 90+% Democratic, but lost it at the last minute. Cleveland's narrow margin in New York proved decisive.

He graduated from Princeton and became a lawyer in [[Buffalo]] New York.  After being a lawyer, he was elected sheriff of [[Erie]] in 1870 and hung many people while in office personally. He was a strong supporter of the Death Penalty.

Part of Blaine's problem centered around a suspicious letter which terminated with the words, "burn this letter." Blaine's detractors would march and chant "Burn, Burn, Burn this letter!"

Cleveland opponents sought to use the fact that he had an illegitimate child against him.  However Cleveland, nicknamed "Grover the Good," proved himself to be a man of integrity; rather than denying the allegations, he owned up to the fact that he had an illegitimate child.  Even though Cleveland's opponents would shout, "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?", his supporters had a trenchant rejoinder, "Gone to the White House! Ha Ha Ha!"   

 

 

In a similar manner, Cleveland opponents sought to use the fact that he had an illegitimate child against him.  However Cleveland, nicknamed "Grover the Good," proved himself to be a man of integrity; rather than denying the allegations, he owned up to the fact that he had an illegitimate child.  Even though Cleveland's opponents would shout, "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?", his supporters had a trenchant rejoinder, "Gone to the White House! Ha Ha Ha!"   

===Personal life===

===Personal life===

* Grover Cleveland's last words were "I have tried so hard to do right."

* Grover Cleveland's last words were "I have tried so hard to do right."

==References==

==Bibliography==

*[http://www.usa-presidents.info/speeches/hawaii.html President Cleveland Message about Hawaii December 18, 1893] - Cleveland's message where he tried to discredit the Hawaiian Revolution. It was contradicted by the Congressionally issued Morgan Report in 1894.

 

 

 

 

* [http://www.usa-presidents.info/speeches/hawaii.html President Cleveland Message about Hawaii December 18, 1893] - Cleveland's message where he tried to discredit the Hawaiian Revolution. It was contradicted by the Congressionally issued Morgan Report in 1894.

 

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