Welcome to Part Twenty-One! It’s time for the first non-consecutive president, the only one to marry inside the White House itself. Let’s dive into the administration of Grover Cleveland:
First inauguration- 4th March 1885
Grover Cleveland was sworn in on the East Portico of the Capitol by Chief Justice Morrison Waite. It was a sunny day, with temperatures at 54F/12C at noon. Cleveland’s inaugural speech was relatively short, emphasising the strict confines of the government and the Constitution: ‘the administration of a government pledged to do equal and exact justice to all men there should be no pretext for anxiety touching the protection of the freedmen in their rights or their security in the enjoyment of their privileges under the Constitution and its amendments.’ The inaugural ball was held in the Pension Building due to its large space, but the demand was so great that it forced multiple parties to be held around the city. Multiple balls are still held to this day to accommodate the crowds.
Death of Thomas Hendricks- 25th November 1885
Vice President Thomas Hendricks died on this day. He was the fifth of seven VPs who died in office. Hendricks had been Samuel J. Tilden’s running mate in 1876 and had accepted the nomination eight years later despite poor health. He died of a heart attack aged sixty-six, having served two hundred and sixty-six days in office. Hendricks had enjoyed a strong relationship with Cleveland and was respected by both parties. Cleveland did not replace him in his first term, waiting until the failed 1888 election.
Signs the Presidential Succession Act- 19th January 1885
Cleveland signed the Presidential Succession Act on this day. The heads of the Cabinet were placed after the vice president depending on how old their department was. It also removed the Speaker of the House and President pro tempore of the Senate from the line of succession, and they would not be put back in until 1947.
Haymarket Affair- 4th May 1886
The infamous Haymarket Affair happened on this day. The incident really started the day before when two strikers for an eight hour work day were killed in a clash with police. Anarchist labour leaders called a meeting at Haymarket Square the next day. The meeting was peaceful, so much so that the mayor even dropped in to watch. This changed when a large police contingent arrived and ordered the crowd to disperse. As the speaker assured them that it was a peaceful protest and the police charged, someone threw a bomb into the midst. The police are said to have fired first, and demonstrators fired back. When it had ended, seven policemen and at least four workers were dead. The Haymarket Affair failed to win support for unions, and in fact did the opposite, as funds poured in for the police and factory owners kept hours high. There was a particular suspicion towards immigrants too. Four men were executed, two had their sentences commuted and one killed himself before his execution.
Vetoes first of 255 pension acts- 8th May 1886
On this day, Cleveland vetoed two pension bills. They referred to reversing Pension Bureau decisions, something that Cleveland disagreed with. He would go on to veto 255 pension bills over his first term.
Married Frances Folsom- 2nd June 1886
On this day, Cleveland married Frances Folsom. The marriage had come as a big shock to everybody, not least because Folsom was so much younger. Cleveland had known his bride ever since she was a newborn, and had acted as a guardian to her ever since her father, one of his best friends, had died. When word came that he was to marry, people expected Folsom’s mother to be the bride. The 49 y/o Cleveland married the 21 y/o Folsom in the Blue Room of the White House, the first president to be married inside the house itself. The couple honeymooned in Maryland for a week before returning to the White House.
Unveiling of the Statue of Liberty- 28th October 1886
The famous Statue of Liberty was unveiled on this day. Cleveland headed the procession before going on a yacht to the island. He gave some short remarks- ‘The people of the United States accept with gratitude from their brethren of the French Republic the grand and completed work of art we here inaugurate.’ The Statue of Liberty remains a symbol of both New York and the United States, and an extremely popular tourist attraction.
Dawes Act goes into effect- 8th February 1887
The Dawes Act went into effect on this day. It sought to give Native Americans by dividing tribal lands into individual plots given to the head of each family. The goal was to encourage assimilation. Unfortunately, Natives were once again shortchanged. Their lands were bought for a low price, those who couldn’t farm struggled with the plots, they were sometimes forced to sell to whites and traditional tribal leadership was broken up.
Loses reelection- 6th November 1888
Grover Cleveland lost reelection on this day. His opponent was the ice cold Republican Benjamin Harrison. Cleveland won the popular vote but lost the electoral college, and thus the election. His opposition to Civil War pensions, vetoes and inflated currency made him deeply unpopular in some quarters. Another problem was the ‘Murchison letter,’ which damaged his popularity with Irish-Americans. The mass disenfranchisement of African-Americans in the South likely prevented Harrison from winning the popular vote.
Leaves office for the first time- 4th March 1889
Cleveland left office for, unbeknownst to him, for the first time on this day. His wife Frances was so sure that he would win the next election that she told staff to keep everything the same for when they returned. Over the next four years, Cleveland worked at a law firm. He and Frances welcomed their first child, a daughter named Ruth, in 1891. As Frances predicted, he won the 1892 election.
Second inauguration- 4th March 1893
Four years later, Cleveland was inaugurated for the second time. It was once again on the East Portico of the Capitol, and the oath was administered by Chief Justice Melville Fuller. His inaugural address was once again short and strong in rhetoric- ‘Under our scheme of government the waste of public money is a crime against the citizen, and the contempt of our people for economy and frugality in their personal affairs deplorably saps the strength and sturdiness of our national character.’ Snow fell constantly until 1PM and because of the biting cold wind, crowds were smaller than expected. The inaugural ball was held at the Pension Office and exhibited electric lights, and crowds were still good despite the weather.
Panic of 1893 begins- 4th May 1893
The Panic of 1893 began today. The collapse of the Philadelphia and Railroad triggered a decline in the stock market. Businesses and banks closed, jobs were lost and poverty increased. It was the worst economic depression that the country had seen up to that point-the Dow Jones fell by 24% on the 5th, the worst drop until the Great Depression. The West was particularly affected by the Panic. Cleveland found himself blamed for the economic crisis.
Tumour operation- 1st July 1893
A very secret tumour operation happened on this day. Cleveland noticed a lump on the roof of his mouth the month before and a biopsy revealed that it was cancerous. Cancer was a feared disease, especially after President Grant’s death a decade before. Cleveland thus decided to keep it secret in case it worried the country and the stock market. He boarded a friend’s yacht, where six surgeons operated on him. The scar covered his scar. Cleveland’s administration managed to quash the rumours and the story wouldn’t be revealed until fourteen years after his unrelated death.
Birth of daughter Esther- 9th September 1893
Esther Cleveland was born on this day, the only child to be born inside the White House. She was the second of the couple’s five children. Her daughter is the late Philippa Foot, the co-founder of the Trolley Problem.
Repeals Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890- 4th December 1893
Cleveland repealed the act on this day. This was an attempt to stop the dwindling gold supplies, as the act decreased the number of reserves available. Cleveland had to push this unpopular decision through a special session of Congress, as even members of his own party disagreed with it. The repeal was extremely controversial.
Pullman Strike begins- 11th May 1894
The famous Pullman Strike began today. The Panic of 1893 had led Pullman to cut workers and wages, but not lower rents or prices in the company town in Illinois. Protestors were fired. It all came to a head when striking officially began on the 11th May.
Sends federal troops to break up the Pullman Strike- 8th July 1894
Cleveland sent in federal troops to break up the Pullman Strike on this day. The strike had only grown since its beginnings in May, especially when famed union leader Eugene V. Debs initiated a boycott of all Pullman cars in late June. The rail network was greatly disrupted. When mail trains were prevented from reaching their destination, Cleveland felt that he had to get involved. He thus had federal troops sent to break up the strike and weaken the boycott. Public opinion was largely on Cleveland’s side, and the strike soon ended. Thirty strikers were killed and Debs was arrested (more on him later).
Withholds his signature but doesn’t veto Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act- 28th August 1894
Cleveland withheld his signature but didn’t veto the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act on this day. Whilst it reduced the McKinley Tariffs, it also added a 2% tax on those with an income of more than $4K (over $149K today) and on corporate income above operating expenses. Cleveland was a huge opponent of tariffs and disliked the bill, but decided that it was better than the McKinley Tariffs and that nothing else would be done. Cleveland withheld his signature but did not veto the act, a very rare thing in US politics.
In re Debs decided- 27th May 1895
Debs was back in the news when In re Debs was decided on this date. He challenged the injunction that forced strikers back to work, and the question loomed as to the Constitutional right of the government to do it. In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court decided that the government had the right to do so, in order to protect commerce, the Post Office and ‘ensure the general welfare of the public.’ Debs was sentenced to six months in prison. He would be sentenced to a decade inside during WW1 for sedition.
Utah becomes a state- 4th January 1896
Utah became a state on this day. It had been a momentous process, considering the problems that the nation had with Brigham Young and the Mormons in general. A polygamy ban was a condition for statehood. Utah would become the 45th state.
Plessy v. Ferguson is decided- 18th May 1896
Plessy v. Ferguson was decided on this day. One of the most controversial and even reviled Supreme Court, it came from a test case in Louisiana. A man named Homer Plessy, who was one-eighth African-American, bought a first-class ticket for a rail journey. When the ticket inspector came, he ejected Plessy from the white-only section and had him arrested. The case went up to the Supreme Court. In a 7-1 decision (one justice had left due to a family death, though he would have likely joined the majority opinion), the Supreme Court declared that segregation laws were Constitutional so long as facilities were equal- an example of the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine. This set the tone for segregation laws for decades, only ending with Brown v. Board in 1954. Cleveland supported the decision.
Bryan’s Cross of Gold Speech- 9th July 1896
William Jennings Bryan delivered his infamous ‘Cross of Gold’ speech on this day. At the Democratic National Convention, Bryan, a famously talented orator, gave a speech in which he decried the gold standard. He famously finished with ‘Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests, and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.’ The speech propelled Bryan to the Democratic nomination, he would run in 1896, 1900 and 1908.
Creates 13 new National Forest reserves- 22nd February 1897
In the waning days of his presidency, Cleveland created thirteen new National Forest reserves on the anniversary of George Washington’s birthday. This added up to twenty-one million acres, double what was already there.
Vetoes Immigration Bill- 2nd March 1897
Cleveland vetoed the Immigration Bill on this day. He opposed literacy tests for immigrants sixteen and over, as well as criminalising temporary immigration for employment. The veto was not sustained, but the Senate did nothing.
Leaves office- 4th March 1897
Grover Cleveland left office for the final time on this day, handing the keys over to Benjamin Harrison. He and his family headed to Princeton, New Jersey, where he was active as a trustee of the university. Another son, Francis, was born to Cleveland and Frances. He remained active behind the scenes politically. Cleveland died on the 24th June 1908, aged seventy-one. Frances remarried five years later and died in 1947. Grover Cleveland usually hovers around average, or a little lower or higher, when it comes to rankings. The Dawes Act and Plessy v. Ferguson usually drag him down, but he’s rated highly by libertarians due to his dislike of government interference.
That’s it for Grover Cleveland. Tune in next week for Benjamin Harrison, in which we’ll see him deal with new states, Wounded Knee and Hawaii.
