bwaugh
Stephen Grover was born March 18, 1837 in Caldwell, New Jersey, to Richard Falley and Ann (Neal) Cleveland. He was the third child in a household that would include nine children. His father grew up in Connecticut and after graduating Yale studied for a year at Princeton Seminary before being ordained by the Congregationalists. At the time of Grover’s birth his father was serving the Presbyterian Church in Caldwell, New Jersey, and the Clevelands named him Stephen Grover in honor of the recently retired minister that Richard succeeded. The family struggled financially as its number increased, so Richard moved on to other ministries that provided better salaries. His last call was to the church in Holland Patent, New York, but his tenure was brief because he died October 1, 1853. Grover was only sixteen years old but supplying funds for the family necessitated him taking a job as a store clerk. Grover had hoped to imitate his older brother William by attending Hamilton College, but this would not be the case. It was a tremendous disappointment that would come to mind often as the years passed. Henry F. Graff relates that when Cleveland spoke at Harvard for its 250th anniversary, he told the gathering in as emotional a manner as allowed in public that he was only an “invited guest” who had “no alma mater” (p. 10). Nevertheless, he advanced to become a clerk in a law firm before admission to the bar in 1859. He worked in Erie County public service including a time as county sheriff before election to the mayor’s office in Buffalo as a Democrat in 1882. When he ran for governor of New York he won by a substantial margin over the Republican. Cleveland was known for generous use of vetoes, standing against corruption including the Tammany Hall machine, civil service reform, and for honesty. It is important to note that the Democratic and Republican parties of Cleveland’s era could be considered to have sympathies opposite their current namesakes.
When the Democrats surveyed the field of candidates for the presidency in 1884, Cleveland was selected as the one most likely to defeat the Republican Washington-insider, James G. Blaine. It was a hard-fought battle with Republicans divulging from Cleveland’s past that he had fathered a child out of wedlock. Cleveland admitted to the affair but was uncertain about the child being his. On the other hand, Democrats had no qualms saying of their Republican opponent, “Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine, the continental liar from the state of Maine!” When the vote was counted, Cleveland received 4,915,586 votes and 219 electors against Blaine’s 4,852,916 votes and 182 electors. It was a close election, but it would not be the only narrow margin in Cleveland’s presidential career.
Life in the White House was an adjustment. Since Cleveland was a bachelor, his sister Rose served as first lady until 1886 when he became the only president married in the White House. His bride was twenty-seven years his junior, Frances Folsom. Cleveland was a pew holder in First Presbyterian Church but did not want a church wedding, so the simple service was conducted by Rev. Byron Sunderland with the benediction given by Cleveland’s older brother William. The President’s first term in office showed his devotion to diligence because he wanted to live up to the expectations of the American people as a leader. He believed, as Graff notes, “Divine Providence had made him president,” and he thought that attending baseball games might betray his calling and appear frivolous, but he was not averse to an occasional fishing trip (67, 75). One of his major accomplishments was signing into law the Interstate Commerce Act that created the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroad rates. Other issues of note during the first term were tariffs, ownership of Indian lands, and problems with labor and income because of the extremely wealthy few that held a considerable portion of the nation’s assets during the Gilded Age. President Cleveland got the job done for four years and anticipated continuing his work with the approval of the people in the 1888 election.
Cleveland was the expected choice by Democrats to continue as president and the 822 delegates meeting in St. Louis agreed by selecting him by acclamation. Blaine had no interest in returning to the campaign trail, so the Republicans turned to Benjamin Harrison who was a member of the bar and a leader of the Republicans in Indiana. However, his experience in national office was limited to one term in the United States Senate because he lost reelection for a second term. His pedigree was impeccable with public service extending back as far as a signer of the Declaration of Independence who also bore the name Benjamin Harrison. He was an elder in First Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis, as well as the Sunday School superintendent. Even though Cleveland was the candidate for Democrats, he was ambivalent about the prospects of campaigning for another term but felt it his duty to try again. The etiquette for campaigning had not improved any because Cleveland was falsely accused by the opposition of beating his wife. The vote was close with a difference of only 89,293 votes resulting in Harrison losing with popular votes totaling 5,449,825, but winning the electoral college with 233. Cleveland won the popular vote, 5,539,118, but lost the electoral with 168. Harrison was inaugurated March 4, 1889. The Clevelands, after a vacation in the Adirondacks settled in New York, where he soon returned to the practice of law while keeping an eye on developments from the Harrison administration.
When it came time to elect a president in 1892, there was so much dissatisfaction with Harrison that some within his own party wanted a new candidate, but despite the opposition and development of a third party, he was the Republican candidate again. When the election results were tallied it was a substantial victory for the Democrats because they gained control of both houses of congress (lasted two years) as well as the White House. The voting had been complicated by the new third party named Populists which did remarkably well receiving 1,024,280 votes and 22 electors. The popular vote for Cleveland was 5,554,617 with the electoral college tallying 277, while Harrison received 5,186,793 with electors totaling 145. It had, once again, been an unseemly campaign and increasing concern about the economy would be a key source of challenge during Cleveland’s second term.
President elect Cleveland was inaugurated president after the four-year interruption caused by the victory of Harrison on March 4, 1893. Cleveland had insisted that he present his inaugural speech before swearing the oath of office when the custom had been vice versa. Some of his plans noted in his inaugural speech included: having a sound and stable currency; appointing people to office because they were qualified and not as political favors; tariff reform was needed but as a more equitable form of taxation; the issue of immigration was prominent; and he wanted to enforce the equality of all Americans. President Cleveland concluded his address by promising to do his best to accomplish his goals, but he also mentioned the importance of other areas of government cooperating. Grover Cleveland was then inaugurated by Supreme Court Justice Melville Weston Fuller swearing the oath with his hand upon the Bible his mother (died 1882) had given him just as he had done when inaugurated for his first term.
The second term would be particularly challenging for Cleveland, but there were good times too. One pleasure was opening the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago on May Day with a speech that ended with him pressing a switch which turned on a massive engine driving a dynamo supplying alternating current to power the electrical infrastructure of the Exposition. The Exposition was intended to display to the world that the United States was an industrial leader, advanced in technology, and a nation to be reckoned with. However, just four days later he was faced with a crisis that would have ripple effects throughout his second term. On Friday, May 5, there was a run on the banks because people feared there was not enough hard money to cover the treasury notes (currency) in circulation. It is printed on treasury notes that the government would pay the dollar value of the note “to the bearer in coin” (see sample here). There was a run on the banks as many individuals tried to cash in their notes resulting in three-hundred forty banks suspending operations. Industrial production dropped drastically, contributing to unemployment approaching twenty percent. It was the worst recession that occurred in American history until the Great Depression. The situation gained some stability by the fall, but the economy was troublesome for Cleveland throughout his term including a recession in 1895. President Cleveland’s second term problems were exacerbated by dealings with big business figures such as financier J. P. Morgan, however he was a strong constitutionalist believing it was his duty to implement and enforce laws enacted by Congress and not go beyond his limitations—but the temptation of executive power wooed him to yield beyond the Constitution in some cases.
Following inauguration of William McKinley as the 25th President, the Clevelands decided to settle in Princeton and purchased a large home. His sensitivity about not graduating college had caused him over the years to be uncomfortable with academia, so much so that he had turned down honorary degrees from Harvard and Princeton in the past. But in 1897 Cleveland walked wearing cap and gown beside Princeton University’s president, Francis L. Patton, in the graduation procession. He was honored by the university with the Doctor of Laws, LL. D.
On June 24, 1908, former President of the United States Stephen Grover Cleveland died of a heart attack. Graff notes that his last words were, “I have tried so hard to do what is right” (135). Among the lists that rank former presidents, Cleveland generally falls somewhere in the middle. A scan of newspaper obituaries show that Cleveland’s predominant attribute was honesty. His funeral was private and held at his former home June 26, 1908. President Theodore and Mrs. Roosevelt were in attendance. Ministers participating in the service included the Clevelands’ pastor at First Church, Sylvester Beach, as well as Rev. Dr. Henry Vandyke, Rev. Dr. William R. Richards, and Rev. Maitland V. Bartlett. President Cleveland is buried in the Princeton Cemetery with his grave marked by a comparatively modest monument for a former president.
On Monday, January 20, 2025, President Elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated to his second term as President of the United States after serving his first before current President Joe Biden. Thus, he is the second president to serve two nonconsecutive terms. Each time a new president is inaugurated, it reminds the American people of the weightiness and responsibility born by the one seated at the desk in the Oval Office. The elections of the twenty-first century have shown a divided electorate and the elections involving Grover Cleveland were clearly divisive. In the header image beneath the podium from which Cleveland is speaking is a banner with the words E Pluribus Unum, which was adopted as the national motto and it means, “Out of Many, One.” The idea is that originally independence and the Constitution brought together thirteen states as one nation and as the nation has grown that unity extends to fifty states. Christians know that the Bible teaches how they must relate to those in authority and as citizens. The apostle Paul provides God’s teaching on government in Romans 13:1-7.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
The Christian is to obey authority and recognize that governing officials are “ministers of God.” Christians are spiritually members of the kingdom of God as manifest visibly in his earthly Church, but they are also citizens of political and earthly entities called nations. The Lord is admonishing believers not only to be good followers of Him but also good citizens of their nations. Included in good citizenship are additional instructions in Paul’s first epistle to Timothy chapter 2, verses 1-2.
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
As ministers of God, it is the duty of earthly governments to protect Christians so they can live in peace, with freedom to worship without persecution and be not only good citizens but obedient servants of God. Praying for those in authority is essential because the responsibilities they bear are great.
Barry Waugh
Notes—The header is cropped from “Washington, D.C. 1893—Crowd in front of Capitol—Cleveland’s 2nd inauguration,” held by the Library of Congress in digital format. The family photograph is cropped from a stereo view titled “Our honored ex-President Grover Cleveland, with his family at home, Princeton, N.J.” as from the New York Public Library Digital Collection. The picture of Cleveland’s grave monument is the author’s.
“Graff” in the article refers to Henry F. Graff, Grover Cleveland, Times Books, 2002, which is a title from the publisher’s American Presidents series. Another American Presidents title used is by Charles W. Calhoun, Benjamin Harrison, 2005. The American President series edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. provides brief (150 pages) biographies of many of the presidents including the most important legislation and issues of their administrations. They provide a good source for those interested in the presidents but do not want to read a lengthy analysis. The book, Life and Public Services of Grover Cleveland, 1884, by Pendleton King, includes a list of Cleveland’s siblings, page 4. Information about the Grover Cleveland birthplace memorial is available in chapter 39 of A Puritan Heritage: First Presbyterian Church in Horse Neck, (Caldwell, New Jersey), by Lynn G. Lockward, published by the Church, 1955.
Election results for the first presidency are from “Presidential Election of 1884: A Resource Guide,” https://guides.loc.gov/presidential-election-1884; for 1888, “Presidential Election of 1888,” https://guides.loc.gov/presidential-election-1888; and for 1892, “Presidential Election of 1892: A Resource Guide,” https://guides.loc.gov/presidential-election-1892. All these sources on LOC are from Presidential Elections, 1789-2008,” Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2010.
Information about the second inauguration of Cleveland is from the Greenville Mountaineer, March 15, 1893. “World’s Fair Opening” is from Greenville Mountaineer, May 3, 1893.
First Church, Washington, became National Presbyterian Church in 1967.
In response to the extended period between election of a president and inauguration, the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1933 establishing the day for inauguration as January 20.
Funeral information is from, “Burial of Late President Today,” Plainfield Courier, Plainfield, New Jersey, Friday, June 26, 1908, front page.
Finally, there is an abundance of information available about the presidency from government entities such as the Library of Congress, the White House, the Senate, and the National Archives. These and other agencies were used for many facts. I found informative the article, “Banking Panics of the Gilded Age, 1863-1913,” by Gary Richardson and Tim Sablik on the Federal Reserve History site.
