For the longest time, I sat with an empty page in front of me, totally unable to start Grover Cleveland’s blog. Ugh. What in God’s name do you talk about when it comes to Grover Cleveland!?! This mental block lasted nearly an hour as I consoled myself at kicking ass on Bejewled 2 until then it hit me—why do I need some witty introduction to Grover Cleveland’s non-consecutive presidencies? Why can’t I simply present him, TV-announcer style, and then shove him out for everyone to judge for themselves?
After reading Grover Cleveland: American Presidents Series by Henry F. Graff (New York: Times Books, 2000), I can now say, as the drum rolls, “Here is the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. Give it up, folks, for Grover Cleveland!” And I merely sit back as the applause simply rolls over me.
Steven Grover Cleveland was born on March 18, 1837 in Caldwell, NJ to a pastor. He was the 5th of 9 children in the family and had a pretty unremarkable upbringing. As a child, Grover attended the Fayetteville Academy in NY and at the age of 14, moved to Clinton, NY. In 1853, his father died. For some reason, Grover found himself supporting his mother and sisters and so was never able to take the time to go to college.
He did need to make a living though so he moved to Buffalo, where he stayed with a relative, and began studying law at Millard Fillmore’s old firm. In 1859, he was admitted to the bar. “Cleveland had come to be the chief support of his mother and sisters—and his contributions to their upkeep were becoming substantial” (p. 15). When the Civil War began, Cleveland, still supporting his family, could not simply leave to fight so he purchased a substitute to go to war in his stead.
In 1863, his career began to take off when he became the assistant district attorney for Erie County and then in 1869, he set up his own law firm: Laning, Cleveland, & Folsom. In 1870, he became sheriff for Erie County. “Still, by all accounts, his term in the sheriff’s office served him well: he had been able to save a good portion of his salary; he had consolidated his connections with almost every segment of officialdom; and his diligence had made a strong impression on people throughout his constituency. He was a public personage, appreciated and respected” (p. 16).
Now things began happening more quickly for old Grover. In January 1882, he became Mayor of Buffalo. This job eventually catapulted him only 11 months later into the Governorship of New York. “Now Grover Cleveland was in the spotlight. He had captured the governorship for the largest state in the country after having served only a year as the mayor. He was far enough past the constitutionally required age of thirty-five to give confidence that he was not a tyro, and yet young enough to appeal to the new generation looking forward to managing the America of the Gilded Age” (p. 34). Cleveland would be known as the “Veto Governor.” He was unsmiling, formal, and a workaholic. But things got done under Cleveland’s stern eye.
It seemed like only a matter of time before he was sighted as the next major Democratic leader. There had not been a Democratic president since Buchanan and people were ready for a change. In 1884, Cleveland won the Democratic nomination for president. “Cleveland was the symbol of high-mindedness and devoted care in local governance. Wherever people were weary of hoping to have government for the people but finding instead government for the politicians, they thought immediately of the broad-shouldered governor of New York as their champion” (p. 46-7). He squared off against James G Blaine as the Republican national candidate.
The campaigns of both candidates did not amount to much. Neither side very differed from the other and so each party looked for dirt on their opponents to distinguish each other. Blaine had been caught up with some party corruption years ago but the surprising thing was that a scandal erupted around Cleveland. A newspaper broke the story that Cleveland, a bachelor, had impregnated a lady, then had her child taken from her and put in an orphanage. Cleveland’s response to the Democratic PR people? “Tell the truth.” The truth, it appeared, was that a friend of Cleveland’s was really the father of the child but since that gentleman (Folsom from the law firm) was married with children of his own, Cleveland had taken it upon himself to care for the woman and child.
This scandal did not actually hurt Cleveland because he soon became the 22nd President of the United States. At 300 lbs, Cleveland moved into the White House with his sister, Rose, as hostess. John Phillip Sousa and his band played at the Inaugural Ball. Cleveland immediately became interested in building up the navy and reforming the Department of the Interior. In a surprise twist, Cleveland became engaged to Francis Folsom, daughter of his old law partner, who was also twenty years his junior. They were married on June 2, 1886 with only 31 guests in attendance.
“Beneath his starched exterior there had always been a sympathetic heart, and people became aware of his gentler qualities. He have them expression not in his formal speeches, which were invariably dry and dull, as we have seen, but in the well-turned letters that he composed. Still, his frequent outburst of temper, his brusque treatment of deficient subordinates, and what was sometimes plain grossness were also in notable evidence. These traits bespoke an unalterable gracelessness that people took as a small price to pay for the honestly in government that he brought with him” (p. 82). Whether it was due to these faults, rather than his virtues, or not, Cleveland, winning the Democratic nomination yet again, failed to win the support of the public.
In 1888, he lost to Benjamin Harrison and so he and Francis moved to New York City. Back in New York, Cleveland resumed his practice of law and also set about giving periodic speeches. In this way, he stayed in the public consciousness and in 1892, was re-nominated as the Democratic national candidate for president. He won again, this time against Benjamin Harrison, his old foe, and the Populist Party candidate, Weaver. He was now the 24th President of the United States.
The Panic of 1893 hit the country almost immediately upon Cleveland’s second inaugural yet; it was a golden opportunity for Cleveland to show what he was made of. And he did a great job! He had the Secretary for the Treasury make a “gold deal” with JP Morgan and then sold governmental bonds to make money during the Panic. It was a brilliant maneuver. Unfortunately, the rest of Cleveland’s second term seemed to stall out, especially when he withdrew the treaty of annexation of Hawaii. No one was happy about that.
During this time, Cleveland was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth. After what happened to Garfield, Cleveland and his associates were terrified of what the public would think about this situation. So they decided to hold the surgery in private. “In private” meant that Cleveland would be operated on on a yacht while his bed was lashed tightly to the mast. He was fitted with an artificial jaw while everyone else remained in the dark until 1917 when the doctor wrote an article on it.
In 1896, Cleveland lost the Democratic nomination to William Jennings Bryant and he passed out of United States politics. Upon a recommendation of a friend, Cleveland and his wife moved to Princeton, NJ where he could be seen taking long walks around the campus. He became the “Sage of Princeton” and was even named a trustee of the college. He spent his time writing articles for magazines and even wrote Presidential Problems, a book about his time in office. He helped reorganize the Equitable Life Assurance Society but he had increasing difficulties with his heart and kidneys. He also had gout. In 1906, Cleveland moved his family to New Hampshire but a year later on June 24, 1907, he died of a heart attack.
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