When was grover cleveland president

National Portrait Gallery. Knowing the Presidents: Grover Cleveland. Challenges: The Panic of was the worst economic depression of the century. The Pullman Strike earned Cleveland a reputation as a union buster. Legacy: During the administrations of Grover Cleveland, the municipal, state, and federal governments adopted numerous new laws, anticipating the reforms of the Progressive Era.

He died in at the age of Cleveland was a member of the Democratic Party. His vice presidents were Thomas A. Hendricks and Adlai Stevenson I Cleveland's presidency coincided with the surrender of Geronimo and the end of the Apache Wars, as well as the dedication of the Statue of Liberty.

He is the only American president to serve two non-consecutive terms. In his first term, Cleveland became the first president to be married in the White House. Below is an abbreviated outline of Cleveland's professional and political career: [1]. His father was an ordained minister in the Congregational Church before his birth, and later a parish priest in the Presbyterian Church.

Grover was the fifth of nine children. His father died when he was 16, forcing him to abandon higher education and begin working to support the family. While working as a clerk at a prestigious law firm in Buffalo, he studied law in his free time and was admitted to the New York bar in In he left the firm and started his own legal practice.

As the Civil War intensified, Congress passed the Conscription Act of , forcing all male citizens age to enlist or hire a substitute to serve in their place. In Cleveland made his first bid for elected office, running as the Democratic Party candidate for district attorney of Erie County, but lost in a close contest.

Cleveland campaigned as an honest candidate in a field viewed as corrupt by many voters in Buffalo. Having developed a reputation for fighting corruption during his time as sheriff, he was elected in what many saw as a rebuke to the city's political machine; only one local newspaper opposed Cleveland. In , the Democratic Party saw the perceived corruption in government and the questionable dealings of the Republican presidential candidate as an opportunity to win the White House for the first time since He is an honest man.

Cleveland's first term was marked by his opposition to special favors for any economic group. His political philosophy was evident in his vetoing of a bill aimed at distributing seed grain to drought-stricken Texan farmers.

He wrote, "Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character. Cleveland was known as an anti-imperialist and opposed the annexation of Hawaii and a coup to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy.

The Senate did not ratify the treaty, due to unwillingness to appropriate funds for the indemnity and a desire among many to block the 20, Chinese U. In addition, the Chinese government had become reluctant to finalize the treaty, wanting to reduce the length of the immigration ban and reconsider the reentry agreement. Cleveland, possibly motivated by the coming election, encouraged Congressman William L.

Scott to propose a bill to prohibit the return of Chinese immigrants who went back to China. The bill quickly passed through Congress. Although Cleveland wins the popular vote in presidential election, he loses to Benjamin Harrison in the electoral vote, to On November 6, , President Grover Cleveland was defeated in his bid for re-election by the Republican candidate, Benjamin Harrison. Although President Cleveland won the popular vote, Harrison won the Electoral College and thus the presidency.

The Republicans entered the election of with a well-organized and effective campaign structure. He was a former Civil War general and Indiana senator who ran an energetic campaign and exhausted himself delivering more than eighty speeches in sixteen weeks. The Democratic campaign was far less organized, and President Cleveland put forth little effort.

Much of the public speaking in the Democratic campaign was left to the nominee for vice president, Allen G. Thurman, who was in poor health.

The central issue in the campaign was the tariff. Benjamin Harrison advocated the Republican position in support of a high protectionist tariff, while Cleveland pushed for tariff reform. Poor campaigning dashed Cleveland's hopes of educating the public on the importance of tariff reform. Another significant issue was the treatment of Civil War veterans. Harrison argued for better treatment of veterans by the government and criticized Cleveland's veto of Civil War pension legislation. Two of the major events in the election took place towards the end of the campaign.

Buying votes was a relatively common practice in Indiana, and the treasurer of the Republican National Committee, W. Dudley, was accused of writing a letter to Republican field workers encouraging them to drive up the prices of votes to exhaust Democratic funds.

A mail clerk found the letter and had it published, although the damage this did to Harrison's campaign is debatable. In it, Murchison claimed to be a former British citizen who came to the United States and wanted advice on the election. The minister responded by endorsing Grover Cleveland; at a time when Anglophobia was on the rise, the news that Britain considered Cleveland a friend may have cost him a number of votes in the crucial state of New York, although the effect of the letter on the election is not certain.

In the end, Cleveland won the popular vote by a margin of more than 4, votes, but Harrison won the Electoral College vote to , and thus the presidency.

The next presidential election in was a rematch, and Cleveland defeated Harrison and reclaimed the presidency. He thus became the only President to serve nonconsecutive terms, winning the office once again after losing as the incumbent. Benjamin Harrison is inaugurated. In a prophetic statement, Frances Cleveland tells the White House staff that she and Grover will return in four years.

Cleveland withdraws the Hawaiian annexation treaty, signed just prior to his inauguration. He takes the advice of a special commissioner who reports that proponents of the annexation are sugar planters; the majority of the population opposes such action.

Cleveland advocates the restoration of the queen but the provisional government rejects this idea. For the first time, the U. This is partially due to the failure of an important British bank which discharges its American holdings in return for gold.

Cleveland calls a special session of Congress for August 7, with the intent of handling the economic crisis through tariff reform and the repeal of the silver-purchase law.

Concerned about the low gold reserve, Cleveland wants to end the practice of issuing silver notes that can be redeemed in gold. In a secret operation aboard the yacht Oneida in New York's East River, Cleveland's cancerous growth -- and a portion of his jaw -- are removed.

Congress begins debate on the silver issue and tariffs. On August 16, William Jennings Bryan delivers a speech in support of free silver coinage and on August 28, the House votes to repeal the silver clauses of the Sherman Act. Cleveland supports this policy shift. The United States offers treasury bonds for sale in an effort to increase gold reserves. The measure is unsuccessful, and a second bond sale is offered with similar results.

They come to demand that the government take action to alleviate economic depression by providing the unemployed with worthwhile jobs. Their arrival had been greatly anticipated and feared by many, but the event proves anti-climactic. Coxey and others are arrested for trespassing. Eugene Debs, president of the American Railway Union, organizes a strike by employees of the Pullman railway car company, beginning in Pullman, Illinois.

Company workers find themselves forced to live in the company town where costs are higher than elsewhere. Additionally, George Pullman lowers wages, in light of the depression, but maintains rent and other charges. The strike spreads throughout the West and halts rail service, affecting twenty-seven states and territories.

Eventually, Debs and others are arrested, and the strike is broken. Hawaii's provisional government declares the Republic of Hawaii. In its constitution, the body includes a provision for possible American annexation.

On August 8, the U. The Wilson-Gorman Tariff Bill becomes law without Cleveland's signature he refuses to veto or sign the measure. The United States intervenes in a boundary dispute between Venezuela and Britain, eventually invoking the Monroe Doctrine to assert its rights.

Britain agrees to arbitration rather than going to war with the United States. A third treasury bond sale to a syndicate headed by J. Morgan restores gold reserves and validates the credit of the government. A revolution begins in Cuba against Spanish rule. By this point, the United States surpasses Spain in its trade with and investment in Cuba.

American sympathy lies with the rebels. Under Cleveland, the United States adopts a policy of neutrality; this changes during the administration of President William McKinley. The Supreme Court nullifies the income tax law in Pollock v.

Farmers' Loan and Trust Company. The Supreme Court justifies the arrest of Eugene Debs, the leader of the Pullman Strike, upholding the government practice of using injunctions to break strikes in Debs v. United States. Marion Cleveland, Grover's third child, is born at Gray Gables, the Cleveland family's vacation home. The Republican National Convention chooses William McKinley, on a gold-standard platform, as its candidate for the upcoming presidential election. The move signals the party's abandonment of the gold standard, upsetting many party members.

Populists decide to back Bryan. William McKinley is elected President, carrying 51 percent of the popular vote and electoral votes to Bryan's The United States and Britain sign a treaty of arbitration ending the Venezuelan dispute which began in December Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield Chester A. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F.

Kennedy Lyndon B. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Help inform the discussion Support the Miller Center. University of Virginia Miller Center. Breadcrumb U. March 4, Grover Cleveland inaugurated. November 25, Vice President Thomas Hendrick dies. Vice President Thomas Hendricks dies.