Cleveland, Grover (Administration)

NO PRESIDENT HELD TO his convictions more steadfastly than Grover Cleveland. He was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, in 1837. Cleveland practiced law in Buffalo, New York, and later became mayor of that city after some local businessmen encouraged him to run. He earned a reputation for honesty by exposing corruption in Buffalo. This reputation helped him to become governor of New York, and as governor Cleveland fought the corruption of Tammany Hall. He gained such a reputation as an anticorruption reformer that a run for the presidency became possible.

Grover Cleveland's second administration presided over the depression of 1894, which threw many Americans into poverty.

The Democratic Party nominated Cleveland for president in the election of 1884. The Republican candidate, James G. Blaine, had strong ties with special interests on Wall Street and in the railroad industry. The contrast between the incorruptible Cleveland and Blaine was so great that many Republicans voted against their party's candidate. Cleveland won by a mere 29,000 popular votes and 37 electoral votes. In his inaugural address, he pledged himself to peace, civil service reform, fiscal austerity, and government on constitutionalist principles.

[Page 178]As president, Cleveland resisted special-interest politics, largely by vetoing legislation from Congress. Cleveland vetoed more legislation than any previous president in an effort to watch over the Congress's tendency to favor special interests. This earned him the nickname “the guardian president.” He vetoed bills to support farmers in Texas and for false claims to veterans’ benefits, and investigated railroad landholdings in the west.

Cleveland believed that paternalism “weakens the sturdiness of our national character.” Toward the end of his first term, Cleveland pushed to reduce tariffs despite industrial support for protection. Big business supported Republican Benjamin Harrison and funded his campaign lavishly. He was warned that this would damage his chances for reelection, but insisted that he must stand for his principles. He won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote.

The fact that Cleveland would not bow to special interests may have cost him immediate reelection, but he would return to the White House. Cleveland won the election of 1892 but soon faced a severe depression. The unemployment rate reached 18 percent. Many businesses failed and unemployed workers endured dire economic circumstances. Cleveland's main economic policies were to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and to maintain the treasury's gold reserves.

Cleveland blamed the Sherman Antitrust Act for the depression. He also broke a railroad strike by 150,000 workers in Chicago. This action proved highly controversial. He also pressured the British to accept an agreement over the border of Venezuela, and justified his strong stance with the Monroe Doctrine. He also got involved in a dispute with Germany over Samoa. As before, he suffered a political loss for having taken strong stands. The Democratic Party nominated William Jennings Bryan instead of Cleveland in 1896.

Cleveland retired to Princeton, New Jersey, and died in 1908. Many historians have criticized Cleveland's second administration for its economic policies. Yet the depression of 1894 ended by the time he left office. Cleveland's commitment to principles, resistance to special-interest politics, and strict opposition to corruption separate him from many other politicians. His efforts to overcome corruption and machine politics did not always succeed. Yet the fact that he made such an effort at risk to his own political career is what is most commendable about his presidency.

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