Grover Cleveland
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Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 - June 24, 1908) was22nd (1885-1889)24th (1893-1897) President ofUnited States, andonly presidentserve two non-consecutive terms.
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2 Supreme Court appointments 3 Significant events during presidencies 4 Related articles 5 External links |
Biography
Onenine children ofPresbyterian minister, Cleveland was bornCaldwell, New Jersey1837. He was raisedupstate New York. AslawyerBuffalo, he became notablehis single-minded concentration upon whatever task faced him.
At 44, he emerged intopolitical prominence that carried him toWhite Housethree years. Running asreformer, he was elected MayorBuffalo1881,later, GovernorNew York.
Cleveland wonPresidency withcombined supportDemocratsreform Republicans,"Mugwumps," who dislikedrecordhis opponent James BlaineMaine.
A bachelor, Cleveland was ill at ease at firstallcomforts ofWhite House. "I must godinner," he wrotefriend, "but I wishwaseatpickled herring,Swiss cheese andchop at Louis' instead ofFrench stuff I shall find." In June 1886 Cleveland married 21-year-old Frances Folsom; he wasonly Presidentbe married inWhite House.
Cleveland vigorously pursuedpolicy barring special favorsany economic group. Vetoingbillappropriate $10,000distribute seed grain among drought-stricken farmersTexas, he wrote: "Federal aidsuch cases encouragesexpectationpaternal care onpart ofGovernmentweakenssturdinessour national character. . . . "
He also vetoed many private pension billsAmerican Civil War veterans whose claims were fraudulent. When Congress, pressured byGrand Army ofRepublic, passedbill granting pensionsdisabilities not caused by military service, Cleveland vetoed it, too.
He angeredrailroads by ordering an investigationwestern landsheld by Government grant. He forced themreturn 81,000,000 acres. He also signedInterstate Commerce Act,first law attempting Federal regulation ofrailroads.
In December 1887 he called on Congressreduce high protective tariffs. Told that he had given Republicans an effective issuethe campaign1888, he retorted, "What isusebeing elected or re-elected unless you standsomething?" But Cleveland was defeated1888; although he wonlarger popular majority thanRepublican candidate Benjamin Harrison, he received fewer electoral votes.
Elected again1892, Cleveland faced an acute depression. He dealt directly withTreasury crisis rather thanbusiness failures, farm mortgage foreclosures,unemployment. He obtained repeal ofmildly inflationary Sherman Silver Purchase Act and, withaidWall Street, maintainedTreasury's gold reserve.
When railroad strikersChicago violated an injunction, Cleveland sent Federal troopsenforce it. "Iftakesentire armynavy ofUnited Statesdeliverpost cardChicago," he thundered, "that card will be delivered." Cleveland also forced Great Britainaccept arbitration ofdisputed boundaryVenezuela.
Oil paintingGrover Cleveland, painted1899 bySwedish painter Anders Zorn
Cleveland ran forDemocratic nomination1896, butDemocrats nominated William Jennings Bryan1896.
After leavingWhite House, Cleveland livedretirementPrinceton, New Jersey. He died1908.
(Source: White House biography)
Supreme Court appointments
- Lucius Quintus C. Lamar - 1888
- Melville Weston Fuller - Chief Justice - 1888
- Edward Douglass White - 1894
- Rufus Wheeler Peckham - 1896
Significant events during presidencies
- American FederationLaborcreated (1886)
- Haymarket Riot (1886)
- Wabash Case (1886)
- Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
- Dawes Act (1887)
- Homestead Strike (1892)
- Omaha Populist Convention (1892)
- Panic1893
- Wilson-Gorman Tariff (1894)
- Coxey's Army (1894)
- United States v. E. C. Knight Co (1895)
Related articles
External links
| Precededfirst term by: Chester A. Arthur |
Presidents ofUnited States | Succeededfirst term by: Benjamin Harrison |
| Precededsecond term by: Benjamin Harrison |
Succeededsecond term by: William McKinley |
