Grover Cleveland (1837-1908)
Stephen Grover Cleveland was from 1885 to 1889 the president of the United States and the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore the only one to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents.
Grover Cleveland was born on March 18th in 1837, in Caldwell, New Jersey. He studied law in Buffalo and got involved with the Democratic Party very early. From 1871 to 1873 he was the sheriff in Erie County and in 1882 he served as a mayor of Buffalo. As governor of the State New York he committed especially to administrative reforms and the fight against corruption in his party.
Wife: Frances Folsom (1864-1947), wedding on June 2nd in 1886
Children: Ruth Cleveland; Esther Cleveland; Marion Cleveland; Richard Folsom Cleveland; Francis Grover Cleveland
Profession: lawyer
Political orientation: Democrat
Presidential salary: USD 50,000/year
Results of the presidential election 1884:
| Popular Votes | Electoral Votes | |
| Grover Cleveland | 4,879,507 | 219 |
| James G. Blaine | 4,850,293 | 182 |
Vice President: Thomas A. Hendricks
Presidency (1885-1889):
After the Civil War Cleveland was the first candidate of the Democratic Party to win the presidential elections. During his mandate Cleveland committed especially to the administrative reforms and the reform of the Customs Tariff.
October 28th in 1886 Cleveland inaugurated the Statue of Liberty in New York, which was a gift from the French people to the United States.
After he lost the elections in 1888 against his Republican competitor Benjamin Harrison, Cleveland worked as a lawyer again.
In the presidential election of 1892, however, Cleveland was once again successful and became the 24th President of the United States. How his second mandate from 1893 to 1897 and his life continued, we’ll tell you in the next newsletter issue.
Points of interest:
Cleveland
- was during his time as the Sheriff of Erie County, New York, at the same time executioner and hung two murderers
- was the first "movie star" among the U.S. presidents. In 1895 he played in the film drama "A Capital Courtship".
- answered the phone personally in the White House
- put a veto on 414 bills (more than twice as much as all U.S. presidents before him)
Nickname: "Veto Mayor", "Veto President"
"A government for the people must depend for its success on the intelligence, the morality, the justice, and the interest of the people themselves." (Grover Cleveland)