Presidential Profiles: Grover Cleveland

Stephen Grover Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey on March 18, 1837. He spent most of his youth in Fayetteville, New York. His life there was idyllic until his father's death in 1853. He attended Fayetteville Academy and Clinton Liberal Academy but had to drop out due to his father's death. His brother secured him a teaching position at the New York Institute for the Blind, in New York City. In 1855, he moved to Buffalo and began to read law. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1859. He then went on to become Assistant District Attorney of Erie County. The eruption of the Civil War halted his ambitions for a time.

After the Civil War, Cleveland decided to enter politics. In 1865, he ran as Democrat for District Attorney, but narrowly lost. In 1870, he was nominated as a candidate for the Sheriff of Erie County. He won and assumed office in 1871. During his tenure as Sheriff, he began seeing a widow named Maria Halpin. Their courtship produced a child, after which Cleveland quickly ended the romance. This would come back to haunt him. In 1881, the New York Democratic Party was looking for an anti-corruption candidate to become the next Mayor of Buffalo. They chose Cleveland to head the ticket. He was elected Mayor in 1882. His stint as Mayor would earn him the moniker of "Grover the Good." In the summer of that year, he was nominated to become his party's choice for Governor of New York. Running on his anti-corruption stance, he won in the fall election. As Governor, he took on big business and the corrupt Tammany Hall Democratic political machine. This grew Cleveland's standing in his party. By the time the Presidential election of 1884 rolled around, Cleveland was front-runner for the nomination. He won the nomination during the convention that summer; his Republican opponent would be former Speaker of the House James G. Blaine of Maine. The 1884 election was largely about the national fight against political corruption. Cleveland's anti-corruption record was a huge boon to the Democrats. However, Blaine's people had a trick up their sleeve. During the campaign, Cleveland's
former lover, Halpin came forward and exposed the fact that he had sired an illegitimate child. His campaign was in great danger, but "Grover the Good" was able to mitigate the crisis. He frankly admitted to the affair and promised to financially support the child. The public largely forgave him of his misdeed. Blaine's main attack strategy had failed. Cleveland proved too popular for the old Mainer. He won the election by a large margin, the first Democrat to win the Presidency since before the Civil War.

Cleveland took the oath of office on March 4, 1885. He ventured into office with same reformed minded zeal he went into his previous executive positions. When making political appointments, he promoted based on merit and not patronage. He signed into law the Interstate Commerce Commission act, which regulated railroad rates, and interstate commerce via the railways. In terms of foreign policy, he struck down a proposed Nicaraguan canal route and military expansion into the Congo. He unsuccessfully advocated to replace the silver standard over the gold standard. He supported the Dawes Act, which sought to place disparate Native Americans onto federal reservations. During his tenure, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Morrison Waite died in office. Cleveland appointed jurist Melville Fuller as Waite's replacement; he would serve on the Court until his death in 1910. While in office, Cleveland courted and married a young student named Francis Folsom. The couple would have five children together: Ruth, Esther, Marion, Richard and Francis. In 1888, he ran for reelection. His Republican opponent was the grandson of the short-lived President William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison. Harrison campaigned on returning the country to business as usually. The American people had grown tired of reform and elected Harrison in Cleveland's place.

After his defeat, Cleveland return to New York and resumed his law practice. But four years of the Harrison administration proved to be worse than the Cleveland administration. In the Election of 1892, Cleveland returned to politics and won reelection to a second term; the only President to be elected to a nonconsecutive first and second term. During his second term, he sought to reverse the economic issues that were bubbling up during Harrison's tenure. In 1893, an economic depression crippled the American economy. The Panic of 1893 stemmed from increased silver production and a reduction in the nation's gold supply. The economy would have to be bailed out by financier J.P. Morgan, after much bumbling by the President. Two labor disruptions, the march of Coxey's Army on Washington and the Pullman Strike, further shook Americans' confidence. Cleveland would also suffer set backs in the arena of foreign policy. In 1893, American businessmen overthrew the native Hawaiian government, and place a territorial government in its place. The President was powerless to act because the overthrow had the approval of Congress. To add to his woes, Cleveland had to undergo surgery for a cancerous tumor in his mouth; forced to wear a rubber prosthetic for the remainder of his life. In the Election of 1896, the Democrats refused to renominate Cleveland for a third term. After seeing the new President, William McKinley off, he retired backed to New York. His post-Presidency proved to be somewhat eventful. In 1897, he was appointed as trustee of Princeton University. During these years, he favored worker's rights and women's suffrage. In 1900's, he developed heart disease. In 1908, he died of a heart attack on June 24.