Grover Cleveland – A Biography

Grover Cleveland was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. Learn about His career, views on tariff reform, and relationship with Frances Folsom. Also learn about his treatment of Civil War veterans. This biography will help you learn more about one of the most influential Americans of all time.

Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland’s career

Stephen Grover Cleveland was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. A successful lawyer, he was a powerful leader and a strong public figure. He possessed an innate ability to inspire people. His charisma and leadership made him a popular presidential candidate and a great statesman.

His political career was characterized by his fierce opposition to political corruption and his fierce guardianship of the office. Though he failed in his second term as an incumbent, he won again four years later. His use of veto power earned him the nickname “guardian president.” He strengthened the executive branch of government and ushered in the modern presidential age.

While in office, Cleveland worked with TR to pass the Five Cent Fare bill. This legislation forced the transit companies in New York City to reduce fares from ten cents to five cents. His father was a Presbyterian minister and was based in Ohio. He then moved to New York state and became a politician in that state.

Aside from running for president in 1884, Cleveland was also a successful attorney. He practiced law for many years before entering politics. He was elected to office in 1862 as the district attorney of Erie County and served in government offices in Buffalo, New York. He later ran for mayor of Buffalo and served as the county’s sheriff for three years. He eventually became the Democratic candidate for president and was elected as president in 1885.

Cleveland served two terms as president. His first term was marked by severe depression and he dealt directly with this crisis. Cleveland’s hard line against the Pullman strike in 1894 weakened his party. After leaving office, he continued to weigh in on political issues and occasionally consulted with Theodore Roosevelt. He strongly opposed women’s suffrage, believing that sensible women would not want the vote.

After the death of his father, Grover moved west. He stopped by his uncle’s house in Buffalo and stayed with him. His uncle was a lawyer and gave him a job. He studied law and passed the bar exam in 1859.

His views on tariff reform

Before he became President in 1887, Grover Cleveland was a lawyer who had worked in the Buffalo, New York area. He was a strong opponent of government spending and was known for vetoing eight bills during his first two months in office. He had won the respect of many in the reform Republican party and grew to be a strong candidate for the Presidency.

Cleveland’s political opponents had warned him against running for president, because he would lose business support and need business campaign money. However, he ignored their advice and campaigned for his views on tariff reform. As Shirley Griffith writes, President Cleveland believed that tariffs hurt Americans more than they protected them and increased the prices of everything. Moreover, he said that tariffs brought in money that the country did not need, slowing down the economy.

During his first term, Cleveland’s views on tariff reform were widely praised by the public. In addition, he was a proponent of hard currency and believed that paper money should be backed by gold. In his view, the inflating money supply weakened confidence in the American dollar and punished creditors. While Cleveland’s views on tariff reform proved popular, he did not convince all influential businessmen to adopt them.

The McKinley Tariff lowered wages for lower-class Americans and raised prices for many goods. As the nineteenth century closed, tariffs were still a contentious topic in the United States. Big businessmen wanted higher tariffs to force Americans to buy American goods. But lower tariffs helped American farmers and working class families by lowering prices.

During his second term, Cleveland faced the worst financial crisis the country had seen. His policies, such as repealing the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and maintaining the gold reserve, were unpopular. His actions led to a party split, and he was defeated in the election of 1896 by William Jennings Bryan. Cleveland died in 1908.

The Dawes Act, passed by Congress in 1897, was the first step towards tariff reform. The Act was written by Henry L. Dawes, who had been a Presbyterian minister, and was a close friend of Cleveland. He also had five children. Esther, Marion, and Richard were born in the White House.

His relationship with Frances Folsom

The story of Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom has been widely publicized, but the truth is less straightforward. It is difficult to judge whether the relationship was more than just a fling. Cleveland’s campaign admitted that the two were “illicitly acquainted,” but argued that Halpin was the only one among the group without a legal marriage. The truth, as reported by Halpin, is likely somewhere in between.

Frances Folsom was the daughter of Oscar Folsom, a friend of the former president. Her father died in an accident when she was eleven. Because of this, she and Cleveland grew closer to each other. The two were often together in Cleveland’s Buffalo office, where she was assigned copying duties.

Frances and Grover Cleveland began courting in 1884, while Cleveland was president. The couple was engaged in 1885, while Frances was on a trip to Europe. Frances said she was “delighted” and said she would marry the future president. She was a major force in politics, and her involvement with politics continued after her husband’s death.

Although the relationship between Frances Folsom and Grover Cleveland was a long-term one, the public sometimes misinterpreted the nature of the relationship. Although Frances Folsom was his adopted daughter, they had a strong relationship during their childhood. As a result, it was no surprise that the two became close and married in 1886.

Although their relationship was fraught with controversy, Frances Folsom Cleveland was popular during the 1888 election season. However, her fame hurt as much as it helped her husband. Her husband’s election campaign against Benjamin Harrison was dominated by rumors of physical abuse. Frances’ mother-in-law had to defend her daughter from the rumors.

Frances Folsom was born in 1864. Her parents were Oscar Folsom and Emma Harmon. Folsom was a lawyer. Her mother had been an English emigrant in New England. Frances’ family was relatively wealthy; her father had a mill and a home in Cowlesville, Pennsylvania.

After the president died in 1906, Frances Cleveland went through a period of depression. In 1909, she took their four children to Europe. During this time, she served on the trustees of Wells College, where she met Professor Thomas Jex Preston, Jr. She later married Preston. They lived in London for nearly a year.

His treatment of Civil War veterans

During the Civil War, Grover Cleveland’s administration vetoed numerous bills for pensions for Union Civil War veterans, including the Grand Army of the Republic’s bill to compensate ex-Union soldiers. Instead, he pushed for legislation to lower tariffs, believing that they hurt farmers. Unfortunately, he never managed to pass this legislation through Congress.

During his second term, President Cleveland began to face an increasingly difficult problem with Cuba. He signed a proclamation of neutrality in June 1895, refusing to show any preference for insurgents. The move made the president and the Union more unpopular with the armed forces in Cuba. Ultimately, the two sides made a deal and Cuba was granted limited autonomy.

Cleveland also faced an acute depression in 1892, which impacted many people’s lives. His conservative policies alienated many southern Democrats. His policies failed to alleviate the country’s economic problems. He eventually declined to run for a third term as president, and died in Princeton, New Jersey.

Cleveland was the first Democrat to be elected president after the Civil War. His only defeat during the presidency was by a small margin. He left the White House only once, but returned to it four years later. The president was also the first man to have a child while serving in the White House.

Cleveland married Frances Folsom in 1886, the daughter of his former law partner. She was the youngest First Lady and gave birth to two sons and three daughters. Cleveland’s reelection in 1888 was not won by a large majority, but it was an electoral loss, as business opposition and intraparty rivalry fought to prevent him from being reelected.