Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland 22nd President of the United States
Born	March 18, 1837
Died	June 24, 1908
Term	1885-1889
Political party	Democratic
Vice President	Thomas A. Hendricks (1885) None (1885-1889)
Preceded by	Chester A. Arthur
Succeeded by	Benjamin Harrison
24th President of the United States
Term	1893-1897
Vice President	Adlai E. Stevenson
Preceded by	Benjamin Harrison
Succeeded by	William McKinley

Grover Steven Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, and was unique in that he was the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms. He was the only Democrat elected to the Presidency in the Republican dynasty that lasted from 1850s to when Woodrow Wilson was President, as a result of the Democratic failure to win the American Civil War. Many contemporary politicians praise him for his commitment to conservative thinking. Much like modern conservatives he opposed imperialism, corruption, patronage, corporate subsidies, taxes and inflation.

Cleveland was famous for busting the union train saboteurs during the Pullman strike of 1894 which angered the unions. He was also a big supporter of gold and a sworn enemy of silver. Even though he was the sitting President, unions and silver people kicked him out of the party, eventually, signifying a drastic shift of the Democrats to the left and leading to the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896.

Early Days

Cleveland was born in Baldwell, New Jersey on March 18, 1837. 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.

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

He graduated from Princeton and became a lawyer in Buffalo, he became very noted in many ways. 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.

He was a big friend of Teddy Roosevelt. When he was 40 he ran for Mayor of Buffalo and won. Many people praised his honesty and he was very popular. In 1882, he was elected Governor.

As President

Both Democrats and Republicans voted for Cleveland for President because his opponent was corrupt.

A key part in the campaign was because his opponent had nothing to use on him, he would shout about Cleveland "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?", because Cleveland had an illegitimate daughter.

When Cleveland won the election his opponents shouted, "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa? Gone to the White House! Ha Ha Ha!"

Personal life

Grover Cleveland in June 1886 was married to Frances Folsom Cleveland in the white hosue. This was the second President married in office, and also married in the White House itself. Some were offended that Celveland was marrying somebody who was 21 years old and his legal guardian too. The Clevelands had many children while in office.

Actions as President

Cleveland voted against many spending bills and Government ideas, making him the first modern Conservative. He vetoed a bill to give $10,000 to distribute seed grain among drought-stricken farmers in Texas, and said: "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 also blocked funding to Civil War veterans, which some said was good but some said went too far. Cleveland used the veto a lot but said he did not like Presidential power and thought the best thing he could do was to stop congress from doing bad things.

In 1886 Geronimo was captured by Grover Cleveland, ending the Indian wars.

The same year in October Cleveland finished the Statue of Liberty in New York and read its dedication in fluent French, as a tribute to its creator, Jean Renoir.

Critics criticizing Cleveland criticize him for signing the Interstate Commerce Act this term, the first critical attempt at Federal regulation.

Against Tarrifs

In 1887 Cleveland began to battle the tariff. Unlike today Republicans claimed a high tariff made for high wages, high profits, and fast economic expansion. Cleveland was not able to kill the tariff, and was defeated in 1888 because of it.

Military Buildup

A very conservative man, Cleveland did not think the United States should invade another country for any reason. However, Cleveland also was in favor of having a strong national defense, and built up the U.S. navy to a huge extent. Teddy Roosevelt was his secretary of the Navy.

1888 campaign

Cleveland lost in 1888 to Republican Benjamin Harrison, one of the few times the Republican was less conservative than the Democrat. Harrison won the Electoral College by a 204-197 margin, but Cleveland won more votes. This was the last election where this happened.

2nd Presidency

Cleveland campaigned to reduce the tariff and stopping the silver people which had lessened the gold reserves of the U.S. Treasury. Cleveland became the only person ever elected president twice when he was elected again in 1892.

As President

Like George W. Bush, Cleveland was beset by a stock market crash shortly after becoming president. He successfully navigated the country out of that crisis.

1884 was the year of the famous Pullman strike in Chicago, where workers tried to stop delivering the mail. He sent the army to Chicago to battle the unionizers, saying that "If it takes the entire army and navy of the United States to deliver a postcard in Chicago that card will be delivered."

Second Tarriff War

Again he tried to kill the tariff in 1893. The "Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act" was very good at first, but when it went through the Senate it became very bad and filled with loopholes. However, the bill eventually was passed and the tarrif was partially killed, but not enough so that Cleveland refused to sing the bill.

Liberals took over the Democrats in 1896 and with the help of Populist firebrand William Jennings Bryan tried to end the use of gold and protectionism. Jennings lost the Presidency in 1896 and 1900, but in 1904 conservatives and Cleveland came back, and nominated successful candidate (although he did not win because of the strong candidacy of Theodore Roosevelt) Alton Parker.

Military

Cleveland was good at pushing around the English without evoking war, and did a lot of stuff with the power of his Navy, which he continued to build. This Navy was so strong it helped to bring about a quick American victory in the Spanish-American war in 1898 when Cleveland was out of office.

At first Cleveland did not support the revolutionaries in Hawaii who in 1894 overthrew the queen and established a Democracy. In fact, he tried to discredit their actions via the controversial Blount Report issued by James Henderson Blount under his direction. Later, however, he supported the Revolutionaries when the Queen demand the death of every single one.

Death and Later Life

Cleveland, nicknamed 'the Growler', retired to Princeton. There he became enemies with the liberal Woodrow Wilson, who was President of the school. Some people wanted him to run again in 1904, but he was too old. Sometimes liberal President President Theodore Roosevelt asked him for advice.

Cleveland died on June 24, 1908 from a heart and kidney disease, with his wife at his side. He is buried in the Princeton Cemetery.

Honors and memorials

Cleveland has been on many dollar bills, including the $1000 bill and some of the first $50 bills before Andrew Jackson was put on.

He will be on two dollar coins to be released in 2012 like every other president will, except two for each presidency.

Trivia

• He is both the 22nd and the 24th President because this confused people and he had to be proclaimed both presidents so the issue was cleared up.

• The baseball player Grover Cleveland Alexander was named after him.

• A riverboat known as the Cleveland Steamer was named after him.

• Cleveland's grandson is a Presidential impersonator.

• Cleveland's granddaughter Foot is a philosopher at Oxford.

• Many people said Cleveland was harsh to the poor, but he just favored personal accountability.

• Cleveland was the only police officer to ever become president.

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

References

• 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.