Grover Cleveland

04/03/188504/03/1889View on timeline
Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland: White House Wedding (1885 - 1889)

Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908) was an American politician and lawyer who was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, the only president in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office (1885–1889 and 1893–1897). He won the popular vote for three presidential elections—in 1884, 1888, and 1892—and was one of two Democrats (with Woodrow Wilson) to be elected president during the era of Republican political domination dating from 1861 to 1933.

Born to a Presbyterian minister, Cleveland grew up in upstate New York. In 1881, he was elected Mayor of Buffalo and later, governor of New York. Cleveland was the leader of the pro-business Bourbon Democrats who opposed high tariffs; Free Silver; inflation; imperialism; and subsidies to business, farmers, or veterans. His crusade for political reform and fiscal conservatism made him an icon for American conservatives of the era. Cleveland won praise for his honesty, self-reliance, integrity, and commitment to the principles of classical liberalism. He fought political corruption, patronage, and bossism. As a reformer, Cleveland had such prestige that the like-minded wing of the Republican Party, called "Mugwumps", largely bolted the GOP presidential ticket and swung to his support in the 1884 election.

As his second administration began, disaster hit the nation when the Panic of 1893 produced a severe national depression, which Cleveland was unable to reverse. It ruined his Democratic Party, opening the way for a Republican landslide in 1894 and for the agrarian and silverite seizure of the Democratic Party in 1896. The result was a political realignment that ended the Third Party System and launched the Fourth Party System and the Progressive Era.

Cleveland was a formidable policymaker, and he also drew corresponding criticism. His intervention in the Pullman Strike of 1894 to keep the railroads moving angered labor unions nationwide in addition to the party in Illinois; his support of the gold standard and opposition to Free Silver alienated the agrarian wing of the Democratic Party. Critics complained that Cleveland had little imagination and seemed overwhelmed by the nation's economic disasters—depressions and strikes—in his second term. Even so, his reputation for probity and good character survived the troubles of his second term. Biographer Allan Nevins wrote, "[I]n Grover Cleveland, the greatness lies in typical rather than unusual qualities. He had no endowments that thousands of men do not have. He possessed honesty, courage, firmness, independence, and common sense. But he possessed them to a degree other men do not". By the end of his second term, public perception showed him to be one of the most unpopular U.S. presidents, and he was by then rejected even by most Democrats. Today, Cleveland is considered by most historians to have been a successful leader, generally ranked among the upper-mid tier of American presidents.

0 comments

Comment
No comments avaliable.

Author

Info

Published in 28/08/2020

Updated in 19/02/2021

All events in the topic USA - Presidents:


30/04/178904/03/1797George WashingtonGeorge Washington
04/03/179704/03/1801John AdamsJohn Adams
04/03/180104/03/1809Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson
04/03/180904/03/1817James MadisonJames Madison
04/03/181704/03/1825James MonroeJames Monroe
04/03/182504/03/1829John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams
04/03/182904/03/1837Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson
04/03/183704/03/1841Martin Van BurenMartin Van Buren
04/03/184104/04/1841William Henry HarrisonWilliam Henry Harrison
04/04/184104/03/1845John TylerJohn Tyler
04/03/184504/03/1849James K. PolkJames K. Polk
04/03/184909/07/1850Zachary TaylorZachary Taylor
09/07/185004/03/1853Millard FillmoreMillard Fillmore
04/03/185304/03/1857Franklin PierceFranklin Pierce
04/03/185704/03/1861James BuchananJames Buchanan
04/03/186115/04/1865Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
15/04/186504/03/1869Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson
04/03/186904/03/1877Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant
04/03/187704/03/1881Rutherford B. HayesRutherford B. Hayes
04/03/188119/09/1881James A. GarfieldJames A. Garfield
19/09/188104/03/1885Chester A. ArthurChester A. Arthur
04/03/188504/03/1889Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland
04/03/188904/03/1893Benjamin HarrisonBenjamin Harrison
04/03/189304/03/1897Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland
04/03/189714/09/1901William McKinleyWilliam McKinley
14/09/190104/03/1909Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt
04/03/190904/03/1913William Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft
04/03/191304/03/1921Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson
04/03/192102/08/1923Warren G. HardingWarren G. Harding
04/03/192304/03/1929Calvin CoolidgeCalvin Coolidge
04/03/192904/03/1933Herbert HooverHerbert Hoover
04/03/193312/04/1945Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt
12/04/194520/01/1953Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman
20/01/195320/01/1961Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. Eisenhower
20/01/196122/11/1963John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy
22/11/196320/01/1969Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. Johnson
20/01/196909/08/1974Richard NixonRichard Nixon
09/08/197420/01/1977Gerald FordGerald Ford
20/01/197720/01/1981Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter
20/01/198120/01/1989Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan
20/01/198920/01/1993George H. W. BushGeorge H. W. Bush
20/01/199320/01/2001Bill ClintonBill Clinton
20/01/200120/01/2009George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
20/01/200920/01/2017Barack ObamaBarack Obama
20/01/201720/01/2021Donald TrumpDonald Trump