Andrew+-+GC+-+SP13

Grover Cleveland March 18, 1837 in Caldwell, New Jersey- January 24, 1908 Princeton, New Jersey Political Party- Democrat Terms: March 4 1885-March 4 1889 and March 1893-March 4 1897 Vice Presidents: 1st Term: Thomas Hendricks(1885-1889) 2nd Term: Adlai Stevenson(1893-1897) Grover Cleveland was strongly opposed to expansion and imperialism. He did not believe that America needed an overseas empire. Because of this, he made some important decisions and was even inconsistent with his stand on foreign affairs. The president between Cleveland’s two terms, Benjamin Harrison, was attempting to annex Hawaii and near the end of his term was trying to ratify a treaty. A change of presidents occurred before the Senate could ratify the treaty. Cleveland studied Hawaii and withdrew the treaty, temporarily halting the annexation of Hawaii. He believed that the American diplomat at the time, John Stevens, acted improperly by stirring up a change of government in Hawaii. Due to this, Hawaii was still an independent country even when they offered valuable goods and resources to America. Many Americans were questioning this decision. The annexation of Hawaii would increase the economy of America while giving them several new types of crops. Another foreign development Cleveland had to deal with was Cuba. In 1890, the McKinley Tariff set off a boom in sugar products in Cuba. Many sugar plants were flourishing. Later however, the Wilson-Gorman measure put a duty on sugar imports, crushing Cuban businesses. This caused the Panic of 1893 and later a depression. These economic problems led to fighting and violence between the Cubans and Spanish leaders. Spain formed multiple concentration camps for these Cuban rebels. Many newspapers and Americans called for some sort of intervention to help their Latin American brothers. Cleveland, on the other hand, avoided all questions about helping. He was anti-imperialistic and showed it. No help came to the Cubans from Cleveland’s presidency. Because of Grover Cleveland’s views about imperialism, not many positive foreign affairs happened. He wanted to become more isolated and refused to expand the country.
 * Thematic Context: **

Grover Cleveland, the only President to serve two nonconsecutive terms, was not a very active President. Cleveland viewed himself as more of a guardian angel over Congress, keeping them in check. During Cleveland’s second term, he was faced with one of the worst American depressions. He blamed the depression on the Sherman Silver Purchasing Act, which he attempted to repeal. This action by Cleveland split the Democratic Party and ensured a Republican victory in the next election. Because of Cleveland’s stance on imperialism, not much progression occurred during his time in office. He did, however, attack Britain for crossing the Monroe Doctrine over Venezuela, threatening London with war. During the Presidency of Grover Cleveland, the use of veto was used hundreds of times. While others believed he was abusing his power of President, others believed he was keeping the executive branch in line. Grover Cleveland deserves a D+ for his actions as President of the United States.
 * Thesis:**

In Grover Cleveland’s first inauguration address, Cleveland states that he will govern following a just Constitution. He will understand the distinction of the powers of the Federal government and that of the state governments. Grover Cleveland accomplished this goal throughout his presidency. Cleveland kept Congress in line by overusing the power of the veto. By doing this he ensured that the executive and legislative branches were balanced and not one was more powerful than the other. Another goal was to have the finances established on a stable basis, benefiting the interests of businesses. Also, Grover Cleveland wanted to steady the wages of labor. Even though that was his goal, America was faced with an 18% unemployment rate in 1894. Cleveland was faced with many economic problems, which he blamed on the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. He was unable to resolve these difficulties before the end of his term. In his second term, he had goals to provide a sound and stable currency. The economy, as previously stated, was falling. Depressions hit America and multiple economic problems started to occur. Another goal was to treat the Native Americans with respect and help guide them through education and civilization. He wanted to quickly get the Native Americans into the white society as soon as possible. He gave private land grants to several Native Americans.
 * Goals:**

Cleveland’s relationship with Congress was difficult. With Grover Cleveland always watching over the back of Congress, not much got done unless it was what Cleveland had wanted. He made many vetoes during his time in office. He made twice as many vetoes than all twenty one presidents before him with 414 in his first term. Many bills concerning railroads or distributing land to Native Americans were passed even though Cleveland did not approve of any of it. It was rare to pass a bill or act in which both Congress and Cleveland agreed upon it. Cleveland attempted to resolve the economic depression in his second term by trying to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. This decision by Cleveland caused the separation of the Democratic Party. Because of this, Cleveland’s time in office had a tense relationship with Congress.
 * Relationship with Congress:**

The most positive event would be the passing of the Presidential Succession Act. This act stated that the heads of the executive branch would succeed to the Presidency in the order in which the departments were created in the absence of the President or Vice President. This is important because it clarified who should take the role of President if a problem arose. This new Succession Act altered the one created earlier. In 1792, it was stated that the President Pro Tempore of the Senate would take office in the absence of the President. This new process gave a long line of successors, guaranteeing a chief executive.
 * Positive Event:**

One of the worst decisions made by Cleveland was repealing the act to annex Hawaii. He let his anti-imperialistic views cloud his mind. Hawaii was at a key spot for military posts and Naval ships. The United States would be able to have better control over the Pacific Seas with the annexation of Hawaii. America’s economy could only increase with the annex of Hawaii. It offered more fertile ground for agriculture along with new types of crops. At the time, Cleveland did not calculate this into his thought process, just the fact that it would expand the nation. Even though America gained Hawaii a few years later, it could have been worse. Because of Cleveland’s decision to not annex Hawaii, they could have become property of a foreign nation. Many treaties were already being made with France and Britain. It was important to annex Hawaii as soon as possible, but Cleveland did not see the importance in doing such an act.
 * Negative Event:**

Cleveland’s most influential moment would actually be hundreds of decisions. I believe all of Cleveland’s vetoes that kept the executive power in line was his most influential moment. Grover Cleveland’s main goal was to overshadow Congress and ensure that they did not have too much power. All of his vetoes balanced the legislative and executive branches. In future generations, no one branch was been more powerful than the rest. If Cleveland had not vetoed as much as he did, the nation might have been worse off than it already was. At the time, there were several corrupt Congressmen were being bribed, which was stopped by Cleveland. He made sure that the President had the ultimate power by saying “no” to hundreds of laws and acts.
 * Influential Decision:**

Grover Cleveland was a very stubborn man who always wanted to do things his way. The country did not get much better at the end of both of Cleveland’s terms. Even though he had good intentions with his policies, it was not right for America at that time. Cleveland did not do much to stop the depression and economic difficulties that America was faced with. His decisions as President caused the separation of his own party. He let his own interests and beliefs guide him as President. If he would have taken into account the interests of the people, the outcome of his time in office might have been changed.
 * Conclusion:**

Works Cited: "American President: American President." //Miller Center//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. .

"American President: Grover Cleveland: A Life in Brief." //Miller Center//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. .

"Foreign Affairs under Cleveland." //United States American History//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. .

"Grover Cleveland - Page 2 â€” History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts." //History.com â€” History Made Every Day â€” American & World History//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. .

"Grover Cleveland: Second Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989." //Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. .

 "Grover Cleveland: First Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989." //Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. .