Nick+F.+-+UG+-+FA11

Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908) Democrat 1st term ( March 4, 1885 – March 4, 1889) VP: Thomas Hendricks 2nd term (March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897) VP: Adlai Stevenson Theme: American Identity

During the 2 separate terms of Grover Cleveland there was serious political corruption. Many in America hated that and wanted someone to be straightforward and honest with them. Cleveland did that. He spoke honestly about what he wanted and he fought against political corruption more than any other President. He wanted this country to be honest and open with its people, which is something the people of the US had not experienced in a long time. Him being honest with the people and fighting corruption influenced the American Identity of fighting against people who cheated to get where they were. You can see evidence of that now-a-days with politicians being forced to resign over cheating the system. Grover started that.

I would give the grade of a C+ to Grover Cleveland. He in my mind was the most honest president we have had as a country. However, he did not accomplish much and in each term, was severely protested by the people around him.

During his first term of his presidency, congress had a republican majority. Cleveland was forced to veto many bills brought to him by congress which resulted in much anger by congress. However in his second term, with a Democrat majority and some of his persuasion skills he was able to repeal the Sherman Silver purchase act. He also overturned the McKinley tariffs with the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act. However, he never signed the bill.

Cleveland really was a non-action president. He really did nothing too bad or too good. However his honesty again set him apart from other Presidents in the past and future. He did not want any secrets and was openly fighting political corruption. He wanted politicians to be honest and to serve the country for the good of their fellow man, not for economic gain. However, he did use his veto power more than and president up to that point. He denied benefits to Civil War veterans and vetoed many other bills the republican congress put in front of him. In my opinion leaving civil war vets stranded after they served was wrong and a blemish on his rather indifferent presidency.

Cleveland’s presidency had very little effect on the future Presidents or future people. In fact he’s known mostly for being a fat President. That being said, his actions during the Pullman strike showed his dedication to the people and making sure things worked. The way he handled it made organized labor groups harden to the president. That in turn influenced how future labor groups went about protesting. He changed their mentality.

So at the end of the day was the country better off? In all honesty, there was no real negative or positive impact coming from Grover Cleveland. He was president, and unless you do the research that you have to in order to write this essay, that’s all he’s ever going to be. He had no specific prowess to his name. That’s why he gets a C+. He did nothing to bad, but nothing to good.

"Grover Cleveland." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia //. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. .

"Grover Cleveland." //The White House //. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. .

"Grover Cleveland." //The White House //. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. .