Justin+S.+-+GC+-+SP10



//**Stephen Grover Cleveland**

Born March 18, 1837 Died June 24, 1908 Political Party: Terms in Office: March 4, 1885 - March 3, 1889 and March 4, 1893 - March 3, 1897 Vice Presidents: Thomas Andrews Hendricks (first term) and Adlai Ewing Stevenson (second term)//

Grover Cleveland was the first democrat to become president after the Civil War. He was also the only president to have two non-consecutive terms. President Cleveland made many decisions that were popular and also a great many that weren't. He passed the Interstate Commerce Act, trying to gain Federal regulation of the railroads, but also refused to give pensions to war veterens. Many of his choices were unpopular with the public which ultimately led the loss of support form his party and resulted in him not being nominated for a third term. For both his good and his bad actions, I will award President Cleveland with a B.

Cleveland was completely against the monopolies operated by the rialroads. He tried to gain Federal regulation of the railroads by creating the Interstate Commerce act in 1887. This act was designed to make sure that the rates the rail roads charged were reasonable and just. It also attempted to put an end to rebates and othere discriminatory practices used by the rail roads who had long favored large companied over small businessmen and famers. This act lacked enforcement until Theodore Roosevelt and his administration came along. Another goal that Cleveland hoped to accomplish was get the nation out of the Panic of 1893. This panic was created due to were rapidly depleting gold reserves, industrial overexpansion, por crop harvests in the south and west, and an economic slump in Europe. Thousands of businesses and railroads went bankrupt and riots broke out across the country. Most notable of these riots was one led by Jacob Coxey. He marched on Washington with the aim of petitioning a 500 million dollar public works program. President Cleveland hoped to resolve this crisis by repealing the Sherman Silver Purchese Act because he believed that this act was largely respnsible for the alarming drain of Federal gold reserves. Even after the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, the gold in the Federal governments banks continued to deplete which caused Cleveland to sell gold bonds to J. P. Morgan and other bankers in return for their cooperation in checking the withdrawl from the treasury. These measures ultimatley helped save the gold standard and the nations gold supply.

Grover Cleveland had an okay relationship with congress but it steadily got worse throughout his presidency. At first, Cleveland got along fairly well with congress, eventhough he found himself continually at odds with the mainly Republican Senate. During his presidency, Cleveland vetoed a vast number of bills such as a bill that would send about 10,000 dollars of seed grain to drought stricken farmers. He also vetoed a bill that gave pensions to war veterens. When congress passed a bill to grant pensions to people who had disabilities not from war, Cleveland vetoed that too. Later in his second term, Clevelands blunt treatment of the rail road strikers and the vigorous way in which he made Great Britain accept the arbitration of the disputed boundry in Venezuela caused him to lose all support in congress and also caused his party to desert him and nominate William Jennings Bryan for the next election.

The most posotive part of Clevelands administration was that he was able to pull the country through one of the worst panics so far in history. He repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act which he thought was one of main causes of the panic. When this didn't work, he sold gold bonds to J. P. Morgan and other bankers from Wall Street. They in turn gave their cooperation to check the withdrawl of fund from the treasury. The action with the worst outcome during Clevelands presidency was his refusal to grant pensions to Civil War veterens. He declared that "Public money appropriated for pensions should be devoted to the indemnification of those who in the defense of the Union and in the Nation's service have worthily suffered, and who in the day of their dependence resulting from such suffering are entitled to the benefactions of their Government." His views on pensions and private relief bills drew fire from the powerful Grand Army of the Republic.

Of all the decisions that Grover Cleveland made while he was in office, the one that influenced the lives of future generations was his decision to get rid of the rail road monopolies by creating the Interstate Commerce Act. This act created the Interstate Commerce Commision (ICC) which was the first federal regulatory agency. The ICC was created to monitor the rail road corperations and make sure that their rates were reasonable and just. It also stopped the discrimination of smaller businesses and farmers. This act impacted future generations because it kept the railroads from creating monoplies and completely dominating the economy.

During Clevelands two terms in office, he made several significant changes, some not for the better. He helped pull the country through a rough financial crisis and also decreased the power of rail road monopolies. All in all, Grover Cleveland had a respectable presidential career and ultimately left the country in a better state then it was to begin with. For Clevelands efforts in office, I give him a B.

Sources:
 * Degregorio, William A.. //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents//. Fourth Edition ed. New York: Barricade Books Inc., 1993. Print.
 * "Grover Cleveland." //Grover Cleveland//. Evisum Inc., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2010. [].
 * "Grover Cleveland | The White House." //The White House//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2010. .