Misplaced Pages

#832167

131-503: Most members were admirers of Grover Cleveland as they considered Bryan a dangerous man and charged that his " free silver " proposals would devastate the economy. They nominated the Democratic politicians John M. Palmer , a former Republican governor of Illinois and Union general; and Simon Bolivar Buckner , a former governor of Kentucky and Confederate general, for president and vice president, respectively. They also ran

262-470: A free silver plank in the campaign's platform, opposing the gold standard and calling for the government to mint large numbers of silver dollars. The "free silver" movement, a key plank for the party in 1896 and 1900, was popular among indebted Western farmers who felt that inflation would help them repay their debts. Business interests, in contrast, supported the lower inflation of the gold standard. Bryan, famous for his 1896 "Cross of Gold" speech opposing

393-616: A New York financier and philanthropist; Horace White , the editor of the Chicago Tribune and later the New York Evening Post ; and Charles Francis Adams Jr. , a leading political reformer and the grandson of President John Quincy Adams . Two other supporters of Palmer and Buckner became better known in the decades after 1896: Moorfield Storey , the first president of the National Association for

524-658: A black man was met with outrage, but Cleveland claimed to have known Matthews personally. Although Cleveland had condemned the "outrages" against Chinese immigrants, he believed that Chinese immigrants were unwilling to assimilate into white society. Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard negotiated an extension to the Chinese Exclusion Act , and Cleveland lobbied the Congress to pass the Scott Act , written by Congressman William Lawrence Scott , which prevented

655-533: A candidate to run against Parker. Three years later, Parker became an appellate judge when Hill appointed him to the newly formed Second Department of the Appellate Division . In November 1897, Parker successfully ran for the post of Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, defeating Republican William James Wallace . As a judge, Parker was notable for independently researching each case that he heard. He

786-554: A century, it declared, the Democrats had believed "in the ability of every individual, unassisted, if unfettered by law, to achieve his own happiness" and had upheld his "right and opportunity peaceably to pursue whatever course of conduct he would, provided such conduct deprived no other individual of the equal enjoyment of the same right and opportunity". They stood "for freedom of speech , freedom of conscience , freedom of trade , and freedom of contract , all of which are implied by

917-595: A conciliatory note, despite the opposition of New England 's Republican Senators. Cleveland also withdrew from Senate consideration of the Berlin Conference treaty which guaranteed an open door for U.S. interests in the Congo . Cleveland's military policy emphasized self-defense and modernization. In 1885 Cleveland appointed the Board of Fortifications under Secretary of War William C. Endicott to recommend

1048-518: A danger to the nation's constitutional order, siding with conservatives in the GOP like William Howard Taft and Elihu Root to oppose Roosevelt's candidacy. Parker was elected to deliver the keynote address at the 1912 Democratic National Convention . He was elected against the opposition of Bryan, and the convention ultimately nominated Woodrow Wilson for president. While Wilson was more progressive than Parker's preferred candidate, Champ Clark , and held

1179-468: A delegate to the 1880 and 1884 Democratic national conventions. In between the two conventions, he helped Grover Cleveland get elected Governor of New York in 1882 . At the 1884 convention, he supported Cleveland, who was named the party's presidential nominee; Cleveland went on to narrowly defeat Republican James G. Blaine in the fall election . The new president offered Parker the position of first assistant postmaster general, but Parker rejected

1310-461: A farmer, and Harriet F. Stratton. Both of his parents were well educated and encouraged his reading from an early age. At the age of 12 or 13, Parker watched his father serve as a juror and was so fascinated by the proceedings that he resolved to become a lawyer. He attended Cortland Academy, and left to begin working as a teacher in Binghamton . There he became engaged to Mary Louise Schoonmaker,

1441-577: A few candidates for Congress and other offices, including William Campbell Preston Breckinridge in Kentucky. The new party's founders were disenchanted Democrats who saw its organization as a means to preserve the ideals of Thomas Jefferson , Andrew Jackson , and Grover Cleveland . In its first official statement, the executive committee of the party accused the Democratic Party of forsaking this tradition by nominating Bryan. For more than

SECTION 10

#1732798156833

1572-515: A former Senator from Delaware . Other delegates spoke of nominating Cleveland, who had already served two nonconsecutive terms, but Cleveland was no longer popular outside the party or even within it, due to his rift with Bryan. Parker's long service on the bench proved to be an advantage in his nomination, as he had avoided taking stands on issues that divided the party, particularly that of currency standards. Hill and other Parker supporters remained deliberately silent on their candidate's beliefs. By

1703-547: A group of women lawyers that he supported the suffrage movement "most heartily." In 1913, he was counsel for the managers of the trial leading to the impeachment of Dix's successor as governor, William Sulzer . During that election year, Parker actively resisted what he viewed as dangerous positions regarding the nation's judiciary held by men like Theodore Roosevelt, who initially sought the Republican nomination, and William Jennings Bryan, who still held considerable sway in

1834-592: A job there as district secretary for the American Home Missionary Society . Despite his father's dedication to his missionary work, his income was insufficient for the large family. Financial conditions forced him to remove Grover from school and place him in a two-year mercantile apprenticeship in Fayetteville. The experience was valuable and brief, and the living conditions quite austere. Grover returned to Clinton and his schooling at

1965-467: A lifestyle of simplicity, taking residence in a plain boarding house . He devoted his growing income to the support of his mother and younger sisters. While his personal quarters were austere, Cleveland enjoyed an active social life and "the easy-going sociability of hotel-lobbies and saloons ". He shunned the circles of higher society of Buffalo in which his uncle-in-law's family traveled. From his earliest involvement in politics, Cleveland aligned with

2096-486: A national convention are a result of class legislation by the Republican party. It still proclaims, as it has for many years, the power and duty of the Government to raise and maintain prices by law; and it proposes no remedy for existing evils except oppressive and unjust taxation. Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of

2227-488: A new coastal fortification system for the United States. No improvements to U.S. coastal defenses had been made since the late 1870s. The Board's 1886 report recommended a massive $ 127 million construction program (equivalent to $ 4.3 billion in 2023) at 29 harbors and river estuaries , to include new breech-loading rifled guns, mortars, and naval minefields . The Board and the program are usually called

2358-541: A percent, the electoral votes gave Cleveland a majority of 219–182. Following the electoral victory, the "Ma, Ma ..." attack phrase gained a classic riposte: "Gone to the White House. Ha! Ha! Ha!" Soon after taking office, Cleveland was faced with the task of filling all the government jobs for which the president had the power of appointment. These jobs were typically filled under the spoils system , but Cleveland announced that he would not fire any Republican who

2489-545: A possible candidate. Roosevelt's Secretary of War Elihu Root said of Parker that he "has never opened his mouth on any national question", but Roosevelt feared that the man's neutrality would prove a political advantage, writing that "the neutral-tinted individual is very apt to win against the man of pronounced views and active life". The 1904 Democratic National Convention was held in July in St. Louis , Missouri, then also hosting

2620-523: A refutation buried in Cleveland's past. Aided by the sermons of Reverend George H. Ball , a minister from Buffalo, they made public the allegation that Cleveland had fathered a child while he was a lawyer there, and their rallies soon included the chant "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?". When confronted with the scandal, Cleveland immediately instructed his supporters to "Above all, tell the truth." He admitted to paying child support in 1874 to Maria Crofts Halpin,

2751-491: A split in the state Republican Party in 1882, the Democratic party was considered to be at an advantage; several men contended for that party's nomination. The two leading Democratic candidates were Roswell P. Flower and Henry Warner Slocum . Their factions deadlocked and the convention could not agree on a nominee. Cleveland, who came in third place on the first ballot, picked up support in subsequent votes and emerged as

SECTION 20

#1732798156833

2882-428: A willingness to make compromise with dignity". Roosevelt, enraged, released a statement calling Parker's criticisms "monstrous" and "slanderous". Parker's attacks came too late to turn the election, however. On November 8, Roosevelt won in a landslide of 7,630,457 votes to Parker's 5,083,880. Roosevelt carried every Northern and Western state, including Missouri, for a total of 336 electoral votes ; Parker carried only

3013-403: A witness from appearing before the committee pursuant to a duly authorized subpoena, used campaign contributions to speculate in the stock market, promised and threatened to use his influence as governor to affect the votes or political actions of certain members of the general assembly and used his authority and influence as governor "to affect the current prices of securities listed and selling on

3144-482: The 1884 presidential election , which he narrowly won against Republican James G. Blaine . In the 1888 election, he ran against Benjamin Harrison, winning the popular vote but losing the electoral college and therefore the election. After his loss, he returned to New York City and joined a law firm . In the 1892 election , Cleveland defeated Harrison in both the popular vote and electoral college, restoring him to

3275-412: The 1904 World's Fair and the 1904 Summer Olympics . Parker's mentor David B. Hill —having attempted and failed to capture the nomination himself at the 1892 convention —now led the campaign for his protege's nomination. William Jennings Bryan , who had been nominated but defeated by William McKinley in both 1896 and 1900, was no longer considered by delegates to be a viable alternative. Radicals in

3406-460: The Battle of Bunker Hill , and was the son of an immigrant from Guernsey . On his mother's side, Cleveland was descended from Anglo-Irish Protestants and German Quakers from Philadelphia. Cleveland was distantly related to General Moses Cleaveland , after whom the city of Cleveland , Ohio, was named. Cleveland, the fifth of nine children, was named Stephen Grover in honor of the first pastor of

3537-458: The Blue Room at the White House. Cleveland was 49 years old at the time; Frances was 21. He was the second president to wed while in office and remains the only president to marry in the White House. This marriage was unusual because Cleveland was the executor of Oscar Folsom's estate and had supervised Frances's upbringing after her father's death; nevertheless, the public took no exception to

3668-649: The Bourbon Democrats , a pro-business movement opposed to high tariffs , free silver , inflation , imperialism , and subsidies to businesses, farmers, or veterans . His crusade for political reform and fiscal conservatism made him an icon for American conservatives of the time. Cleveland also won praise for honesty, self-reliance, integrity, and commitment to the principles of classical liberalism . His fight against political corruption, patronage, and bossism convinced many like-minded Republicans, called " Mugwumps ", to cross party lines and support him in

3799-565: The Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States. In the general election, Parker opposed popular incumbent Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. After a disorganized and ineffective campaign, Parker was defeated by 336 electoral votes to 140, carrying only the traditionally Democratic Solid South . He then returned to practicing law. In later life, he managed John Alden Dix 's successful 1910 campaign for Governor of New York and served as prosecution counsel for

3930-484: The Democratic Party . He had a decided aversion to Republicans John Fremont and Abraham Lincoln , and the heads of the Rogers law firm were solid Democrats. In 1865, he ran for District Attorney , losing narrowly to his friend and roommate, Lyman K. Bass , the Republican nominee. In 1870, with the help of friend Oscar Folsom, Cleveland secured the Democratic nomination for sheriff of Erie County, New York . He won

4061-637: The Hudson River , calling the house "Rosemount". They were the parents of two children, Bertha and John. John died of tetanus while still a child. Bertha Schoonmaker Parker married the Reverend Charles Mercer Hall, with whom she had two children, Alton Parker Hall and Mary McAlister Hall Oxholm. As the 1904 presidential election approached, the Democrats began to search for a nominee to oppose popular incumbent Republican president Theodore Roosevelt , and Parker's name arose as

National Democratic Party (United States) - Misplaced Pages Continue

4192-553: The Navy and canceled construction contracts that had resulted in inferior ships. Cleveland angered railroad investors by ordering an investigation of Western lands they held by government grant. Secretary of the Interior Lucius Q. C. Lamar charged that the rights of way for this land must be returned to the public because the railroads failed to extend their lines according to agreements. The lands were forfeited, resulting in

4323-632: The Pension Bureau , Congress should not attempt to override that decision. When Congress, pressured by the Grand Army of the Republic , passed a bill granting pensions for disabilities not caused by military service, Cleveland also vetoed that. In his first term alone, Cleveland used the veto 414 times, which was more than four times more often than any previous president had used it. In 1887, Cleveland issued his most well-known veto, that of

4454-539: The Texas Seed Bill . After a drought had ruined crops in several Texas counties, Congress appropriated $ 100,000 (equivalent to $ 3,391,111 in 2023) to purchase seed grain for farmers there. Cleveland vetoed the expenditure. In his veto message, he espoused a theory of limited government: I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution, and I do not believe that the power and duty of

4585-468: The U.S. Constitution , which guaranteed voting rights to African Americans. Though Cleveland appointed no black Americans to patronage jobs, he allowed Frederick Douglass to continue in his post as recorder of deeds in Washington, D.C., and appointed another black man ( James Campbell Matthews , a former New York judge) to replace Douglass upon his resignation. His decision to replace Douglass with

4716-472: The contested election of 1876 . After Tilden declined a nomination due to his poor health, his supporters shifted to several other contenders. Cleveland was among the leaders in early support, and Thomas F. Bayard of Delaware , Allen G. Thurman of Ohio , Samuel Freeman Miller of Iowa , and Benjamin Butler of Massachusetts also had considerable followings, along with various favorite sons . Each of

4847-573: The " Baby Ruth " candy bar was named after her. Cleveland also claimed paternity of a child with Maria Crofts Halpin, Oscar Folsom Cleveland, who was born in 1874. During his first term, Cleveland successfully nominated two justices to the Supreme Court of the United States . The first, Lucius Q. C. Lamar, was a former Mississippi senator who served in Cleveland's Cabinet as Interior Secretary. When William Burnham Woods died, Cleveland nominated Lamar to his seat in late 1887. Lamar's nomination

4978-563: The 1898 elections, the executive committee voted to disband the party in 1900. Most of its members eventually returned to the regular Democratic Party in 1900 because they opposed McKinley's imperialistic foreign policy. The platform was adopted at the Convention of the National Democratic Party at Indianapolis, Indiana on September 3, 1896: This convention was assembled to uphold the principles upon which depends

5109-624: The 1904 election was one of a few in American history in which voters had two first-rate candidates to choose from. Stone professed that Americans liked Roosevelt more because of his colorful style. After the election, Parker resumed practicing law and served as the president of the American Bar Association from 1906 to 1907. He was a founding member of the New York County Lawyers' Association and served as

5240-463: The 1913 impeachment of Dix's successor, Governor William Sulzer . During the 1912 presidential election , Parker joined with other constitutional conservatives in an absolute defense of the power of judicial review against critics like Theodore Roosevelt or William Jennings Bryan who advocated a popular check on judicial decisions. Parker was born in Cortland, New York , to John Brooks Parker,

5371-467: The Advancement of Colored People , and the journalist Oswald Garrison Villard , an anti-imperialist and civil libertarian . However, the two supporters of Palmer and Buckner who enjoyed the greatest fame in subsequent years were those bulwarks of progressivism , Louis Brandeis and Woodrow Wilson . Most backers of the party's ideals ended up voting for Republican candidate William McKinley in

National Democratic Party (United States) - Misplaced Pages Continue

5502-712: The Congressional elections that year , and the forces of protectionism increased their numbers in the Congress, but Cleveland continued to advocate tariff reform. As the surplus grew, Cleveland and the reformers called for a tariff for revenue only. His message to Congress in 1887 (quoted at right) highlighted the injustice of taking more money from the people than the government needed to pay its operating expenses. Republicans, as well as protectionist northern Democrats like Samuel J. Randall , believed that American industries would fail without high tariffs, and they continued to fight reform efforts. Roger Q. Mills , chairman of

5633-401: The Democratic Party. Roosevelt had come out as early as 1910 in opposition to whom he called "fossilized judges" that struck down reform legislation as unconstitutional. By 1912, both Roosevelt and Bryan had called for amendments to enable the recall of judges and judicial decisions that the people at large deemed incorrect as a popular check on judicial review. Parker believed this proposal to be

5764-443: The Democratic cause of tariff reform to court the favor of protectionists to the fiscal heresy. In view of these and other grave departures from Democratic principles, we cannot support the candidates of that convention, nor be bound by its acts. The Democratic party has survived a victory won in behalf of the doctrine and the policy proclaimed in its name at Chicago. The conditions, however, which make possible such utterances from

5895-484: The Democrats' strongest asset. William C. Hudson created Cleveland's contextual campaign slogan "A public office is a public trust." Reform-minded Republicans called " Mugwumps " denounced Blaine as corrupt and flocked to Cleveland. The Mugwumps, including such men as Carl Schurz and Henry Ward Beecher , were more concerned with morality than with party, and felt Cleveland was a kindred soul who would promote civil service reform and fight for efficiency in government. At

6026-726: The Endicott Board and the Endicott Program. Most of the Board's recommendations were implemented, and by 1910, 27 locations were defended by over 70 forts. Many of the weapons remained in place until scrapped in World War II as they were replaced with new defenses. Endicott also proposed to Congress a system of examinations for Army officer promotions. For the Navy, the Cleveland administration, spearheaded by Secretary of

6157-824: The Fayetteville Academy and the Clinton Grammar School (not the Clinton Liberal Institute). After his father died in 1853, he again left school to help support his family. Later that year, Cleveland's brother William was hired as a teacher at the New York Institute for the Blind in New York City, and William obtained a place for Cleveland as an assistant teacher. Cleveland returned home to Holland Patent at

6288-511: The First Presbyterian Church of Caldwell, where his father was pastor at the time. He became known as Grover in his adult life. In 1841, the Cleveland family moved to Fayetteville, New York , where Grover spent much of his childhood. Neighbors later described him as "full of fun and inclined to play pranks", and fond of outdoor sports. In 1850, Cleveland's father Richard moved his family to Clinton, New York , accepting

6419-578: The House Ways and Means Committee, proposed a bill to reduce the tariff from about 47% to about 40%. After significant exertions by Cleveland and his allies, the bill passed the House. The Republican Senate failed to come to an agreement with the Democratic House, and the bill died in the conference committee . Dispute over the tariff persisted into the 1888 presidential election. Cleveland

6550-535: The Irish were mainly a Democratic constituency in the 19th century, Blaine's mother was Irish Catholic, and he had been supportive of the Irish National Land League while he was Secretary of State. The Irish, a significant group in three of the swing states , did appear inclined to support Blaine until a Republican, Samuel D. Burchard , gave a speech pivotal for the Democrats, denouncing them as

6681-490: The Navy William Collins Whitney , moved towards modernization, although no ships were constructed that could match the best European warships. Although completion of the four steel-hulled warships begun under the previous administration was delayed due to a corruption investigation and subsequent bankruptcy of their building yard, these ships were completed in a timely manner in naval shipyards once

SECTION 50

#1732798156833

6812-557: The New York Stock Exchange." Sulzer was found guilty of three charges (making and filing a false statement regarding his campaign accounts, perjuring himself in verifying the statement concerning his campaign accounts and suppressing evidence by threatening witnesses) and was ultimately removed from office. Parker later re-entered politics, managing John Alden Dix 's successful 1910 gubernatorial campaign. He announced his support for women's suffrage in 1911, telling

6943-564: The Providence Asylum. Halpin was only kept at the asylum for five days because she was deemed not to be insane. Cleveland later provided financial support for her to begin her own business outside of Buffalo. Although lacking irrefutable evidence that Cleveland was the father, the child became a campaign issue for the Republican Party in Cleveland's first presidential campaign, where they smeared him by claiming that he

7074-506: The United States , serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first Democrat to win the presidency after the Civil War . He was also the first president to serve nonconsecutive terms. Cleveland was elected mayor of Buffalo in 1881 and governor of New York in 1882. While governor, he closely cooperated with state assembly minority leader Theodore Roosevelt to pass reform measures, winning national attention. He led

7205-525: The White House. As his second administration began, the Panic of 1893 sparked a severe national depression. Many voters blamed the Democrats, opening the way for a Republican landslide in 1894 and for the agrarian and Silverite seizure of the Democratic Party in 1896. An anti-imperialist , Cleveland opposed the push to annex Hawaii , launched an investigation into the 1893 coup against Queen Liliʻuokalani , and called for her to be restored. Cleveland

7336-584: The bench. On August 10, he was formally visited at Rosemount by a delegation of party elders to inform him of his nomination. Parker then delivered a speech criticizing Roosevelt for his administration's involvement in Turkish and Moroccan affairs and having failed to give a date on which the Philippines would become independent of American control. The speech was considered even by supporters to be impersonal and uninspiring. Historian Lewis L. Gould described

7467-405: The bonds of a common brotherhood. One of the most volatile issues of the 1880s was whether the currency should be backed by gold and silver , or by gold alone . The issue cut across party lines, with Western Republicans and Southern Democrats joining in the call for the free coinage of silver, and both parties' representatives in the northeast holding firm for the gold standard . Because silver

7598-736: The campaign's inefficient use of funds to bring in delegates, Parker received few visitors. Rather than introducing issues that would differentiate the two parties, the Democrats preferred to emphasize Roosevelt's character, portraying him as dangerously unstable. Parker's campaign also failed to reach out to traditional Democratic voting blocs such as Irish Catholic immigrants. In contrast, Roosevelt's campaign, headed by George Cortelyou , organized committees to appeal specifically to demographics including Jewish, black, and German-American voters. John Hay, Roosevelt's Secretary of State, wrote of Parker's poor showing to Henry Adams , calling it "the most absurd political campaign of our time". A month before

7729-553: The century-old battle-cry of the Democratic party, 'Individual Liberty.'" The party criticized both the inflationist policies of the Democrats and the protectionism of the Republicans. Almost a "who's who" of classical liberals gave the party their support. They included President Cleveland; E. L. Godkin , the editor and publisher of The Nation ; Edward Atkinson , a Boston fire insurance executive, textile manufacturer and publicist for free market causes; Spencer Trask ,

7860-722: The company, it sued the United Hatters of North America for violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act . The U.S. Supreme Court found for Loewe by ruling that the union had been acting in restraint of interstate commerce. Parker had more success representing Samuel Gompers and other labor leaders in Gompers v. United States , in which the Supreme Court overturned their convictions for contempt of court on statute of limitations grounds. In 1913, Parker

7991-482: The completion of the apprentice contract. In 1853, missionary work began to take a toll on Richard's health. He took a new work assignment in Holland Patent, New York (near Utica ) and moved his family once again. Shortly after, Richard Cleveland died from a gastric ulcer . Grover was said to have learned about his father's death from a boy selling newspapers. Cleveland received his elementary education at

SECTION 60

#1732798156833

8122-519: The compromise choice. With Republicans still divided heading into the general election , Cleveland emerged the victor, receiving 535,318 votes to Republican nominee Charles J. Folger 's 342,464. Cleveland's margin of victory was, at the time, the largest in a contested New York election. The Democrats also picked up seats in both houses of the New York State Legislature . Cleveland brought his opposition to needless spending to

8253-514: The country from shame and have saved the party from destruction." Although the Gold Democrats captured the 1904 nomination with Alton Parker , Bryan and his supporters would win the long-term control of the Democratic Party. Bryan would again be nominated by the Democrats in 1900 and 1908 , and modern liberals such as Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt would enact many populist proposals into law. After disappointing results in

8384-471: The culmination of a most bare-faced, impudent, and shameless scheme to betray the interests of the people, and to worse than squander the public money." The Council reversed itself and awarded the contract to the lowest bidder. Cleveland also asked the state legislature to form a Commission to develop a plan to improve the sewer system in Buffalo at a much lower cost than previously proposed locally; this plan

8515-629: The daughter of a man who owned property near his school. He then returned to Cortland Academy. While at Cortland Normal School, Parker was a member of Gamma Sigma Fraternity. After graduation, he attended the State Normal School in Cortland (now the State University of New York College at Cortland ), Parker married Schoonmaker in 1872 and became a clerk at Schoonmaker & Hardenburgh, a legal firm at which one of her relatives

8646-439: The election by a 303-vote margin and took office on January 1, 1871, at age 33. While this new career took him away from the practice of law, it was rewarding in other ways: the fees were said to yield up to $ 40,000, equivalent to $ 1,017,333 in 2023, over the two-year term. Cleveland's service as sheriff was unremarkable. Biographer Rexford Tugwell described the time in office as a waste for Cleveland politically. Cleveland

8777-475: The election, Parker became aware of the large volume of corporate donations Cortelyou had solicited for the Roosevelt campaign, and made "Cortelyouism" a theme of his speeches, accusing the president of being insincere in previous trust busting efforts. In late October, he also went on a speaking tour in the key states of New York and New Jersey , in which he reiterated the president's "shameless exhibition of

8908-438: The election, but the party won 137,000 votes, about 1.0% of the national total. After the election of McKinley, some Gold Democratic partisans tried to portray the election as a stunning victory for their party and confidently predicted that the defeat of the despised Bryan would open the door for Gold Democrats' recapture of the Democratic Party. In a post-election editorial, Henry Watterson claimed, "Palmer and Buckner have saved

9039-456: The end of 1854, where an elder in his church offered to pay for his college education if he promised to become a minister. Cleveland declined, and in 1855 he decided to move west. He stopped first in Buffalo, New York , where his uncle-in-law Lewis F. Allen , gave him a clerical job. Allen was an important man in Buffalo, and he introduced his nephew-in-law to influential men there, including

9170-456: The end of his second term, he was severely unpopular, even among Democrats. After leaving the White House, Cleveland served as a trustee of Princeton University and continued to voice his political views. He died in 1908. Today, Cleveland is praised for honesty, integrity, adherence to his morals, defying party boundaries, and effective leadership and is typically ranked in the middle to upper tier of U.S. presidents. Stephen Grover Cleveland

9301-482: The endorsement of Bryan, he also came out against judicial recall. The result was the triumph of a supreme view of judicial review in both the Democratic and Republican parties. Parker's wife, Mary, died in 1917. He remarried in 1923 to Amelia Day "Amy" Campbell. On May 10, 1926, only a few days after recovering from bronchial pneumonia , Parker died from a heart attack while riding in his car through New York City's Central Park , four days before his 74th birthday. He

9432-415: The famous Olympia ), one armored cruiser , and one monitor were also ordered, along with the experimental cruiser Vesuvius . Under Cleveland, gains in civil rights for African Americans were limited. Cleveland, like a growing number of Northerners and nearly all white Southerners, saw Reconstruction as a failed experiment, and was reluctant to use federal power to enforce the 15th Amendment of

9563-474: The first 15 months of his administration. Unlike the previous bachelor president James Buchanan , Cleveland did not remain a bachelor for long. In 1885, the daughter of Cleveland's friend Oscar Folsom visited him in Washington. Frances Folsom was a student at Wells College . When she returned to school, President Cleveland received her mother's permission to correspond with her, and they were soon engaged to be married. The wedding occurred on June 2, 1886, in

9694-412: The general government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadfastly resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the government, the government should not support

9825-494: The gold standard, fought bitterly to avoid the inclusion of the gold standard in the party platform in 1904. Ultimately the convention agreed not to include a plank on the subject. However, seeking to win the support of the Eastern "sound money" faction, Parker sent a telegram to the convention immediately upon hearing news of his nomination that he considered the gold standard "firmly and irrevocably established" and would decline

9956-412: The governor's office. He promptly sent the legislature eight vetoes in his first two months in office. The first to attract attention was his veto of a bill to reduce the fares on New York City elevated trains to five cents. The bill had broad support because the trains' owner, Jay Gould , was unpopular, and his fare increases were widely denounced. Cleveland saw the bill as unjust—Gould had taken over

10087-672: The group's president from 1909 to 1912. Parker was elected president of the New York State Bar Association on January 28, 1913. He served as the president of the NYSBA from 1913 to 1914. Parker represented organized labor in several cases, most notably in Loewe v. Lawlor , popularly known as the "Danbury Hatters' case". In the case, the fur hat manufacturer D. E. Loewe & Company had attempted to enforce an open shop policy; when unions had subsequently boycotted

10218-424: The hanging, Cleveland executed Morrissey himself. He hanged another murderer, John Gaffney , on February 14, 1873. After his term as sheriff ended, Cleveland returned to his law practice, opening a firm with his friends Lyman K. Bass and Wilson S. Bissell . Bass was later replaced by George J. Sicard . Elected to Congress in 1872, Bass did not spend much time at the firm, but Cleveland and Bissell soon rose to

10349-576: The honor and welfare of the American people in order that Democrats throughout the Union may unite their patriotic efforts to avert disaster from their country and ruin from their party. The Democratic party is pledged to equal justice and exact justice in all men of every creed and condition; to the largest freedom of individual consistent with good government; to the preservation of the Federal Government in its constitutional vigor and support of

10480-598: The idea of cultural assimilation, pushing for the passage of the Dawes Act , which would allow lands held in trust by the federal government for the tribes to instead be distributed to individual tribe members. While a conference of Native leaders endorsed the act, in practice the majority of Native Americans disapproved of it. Cleveland believed the Dawes Act would lift Native Americans out of poverty and encourage their assimilation into white society. It ultimately weakened

10611-643: The investigation was over. Sixteen additional steel-hulled warships were ordered by the end of 1888; these ships later proved vital in the Spanish–American War of 1898, and many served in World War I. These ships included the "second-class battleships " Maine and Texas , designed to match modern armored ships recently acquired by South American countries from Europe, such as the Brazilian battleship Riachuelo . Eleven protected cruisers (including

10742-657: The maintenance of the public faith and sound money; and it is opposed to paternalism and all class legislation. The declarations of the Chicago Convention attack individual freedom, the right of private contract, the independence of the judiciary, and the authority of the President to enforce Federal laws. They advocate a reckless attempt to increase the price of silver by legislation to the debasement of our monetary standard, and threaten unlimited issues of paper money by Government. They abandon for Republican allies

10873-518: The match. At 21 years, Frances Folsom Cleveland was and remains the youngest First Lady in history, and soon became popular for her warm personality. The Clevelands had five children: Ruth (1891–1904), Esther (1893–1980), Marion (1895–1977), Richard (1897–1974), and Francis (1903–1995). British philosopher Philippa Foot (1920–2010) was their granddaughter. Ruth contracted diphtheria on January 2, 1904, and died five days after her diagnosis. The Curtiss Candy Company would later assert that

11004-413: The most damaging correspondence, Blaine had written "Burn this letter", giving Democrats the last line to their rallying cry: "Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine, the continental liar from the state of Maine, 'Burn this letter! ' " Regarding Cleveland, commentator Jeff Jacoby notes that, "Not since George Washington had a candidate for President been so renowned for his rectitude." But the Republicans found

11135-595: The municipal legislation they cooperated on gained Cleveland national recognition. In June 1884, the Republican Party convened their national convention in Chicago , selecting former U.S. House Speaker James G. Blaine of Maine as their nominee for president. Blaine's nomination alienated many Republicans, including the Mugwumps , who viewed Blaine as ambitious and immoral. The Republican standard-bearer

11266-559: The name of Oscar Folsom, or any one else, with that boy, for that purpose is simply infamous and false." The electoral votes of closely contested New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Connecticut would determine the election. In New York, the Tammany Democrats decided that they would gain more from supporting a Democrat they disliked than a Republican who would do nothing for them. Blaine hoped that he would have more support from Irish Americans than Republicans typically did; while

11397-510: The nature of his enemies made him still more friends. Cleveland led on the first ballot, with 392 votes out of 820. On the second ballot, Tammany threw its support behind Butler, but the rest of the delegates shifted to Cleveland, who won. Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana was selected as his running mate. Corruption in politics was the central issue in 1884; Blaine had over the span of his career been involved in several questionable deals. Cleveland's reputation as an opponent of corruption proved

11528-426: The nomination if he could not state this in his campaign. The telegram sparked a new debate and fresh opposition from Bryan, but the convention eventually replied to Parker that he was free to speak on the issue as he liked. National support for Parker began to rise, and Roosevelt praised his opponent's telegram in private as "bold and skillful" and "most adroit". After receiving the nomination, Parker resigned from

11659-490: The offer, citing monetary reasons. During this time, Parker also became a protege of David B. Hill , managing Hill's 1885 gubernatorial campaign. After his election, Hill appointed Parker to fill an 1885 vacancy on the New York Supreme Court created by the death of Justice Theodore R. Westbrook. In 1886, Parker was elected to his own fourteen-year term in the seat. The Republicans declined to nominate

11790-555: The old allegations that Blaine had corruptly influenced legislation in favor of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad and the Union Pacific Railway , later profiting on the sale of bonds he owned in both companies. Although the stories of Blaine's favors to the railroads had made the rounds eight years earlier, this time Blaine's correspondence was discovered, making his earlier denials less plausible. On some of

11921-522: The other candidates had hindrances to his nomination: Bayard had spoken in favor of secession in 1861, making him unacceptable to Northerners; Butler, conversely, was reviled throughout the Southern United States for his actions during the Civil War ; Thurman was generally well-liked, but was growing old and infirm, and his views on the silver question were uncertain. Cleveland, too, had detractors—Tammany remained opposed to him—but

12052-479: The partners in the law firm of Rogers, Bowen, and Rogers. Millard Fillmore , the 13th president of the United States, had previously worked for the partnership. Cleveland later took a clerkship with the firm, began to read the law with them, and was admitted to the New York bar in 1859. Cleveland worked for the Rogers firm for three years before leaving in 1862 to start his own practice. In January 1863, he

12183-446: The party of "Rum, Romanism , and Rebellion". The Democrats spread the word of this implied anti-Catholic insult on the eve of the election. They also blistered Blaine for attending a banquet with some of New York City's wealthiest men. After the votes were counted, Cleveland narrowly won all four of the swing states, including New York by 1,200 votes. While the popular vote total was close, with Cleveland winning by just one-quarter of

12314-523: The party supported publisher William Randolph Hearst but lacked sufficient numbers to secure the nomination due to opposition from Bryan and Tammany Hall , the powerful New York political machine. Small clusters of delegates pledged support to other candidates, including Missouri Senator Francis Cockrell ; Richard Olney , Grover Cleveland's Secretary of State ; Edward C. Wall , a former Wisconsin State Representative ; and George Gray ,

12445-447: The people. The friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow-citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens

12576-571: The railroads when they were failing and had made the system solvent again. Cleveland believed that altering Gould's franchise would violate the Contract Clause of the federal Constitution . Despite the initial popularity of the fare-reduction bill, the newspapers praised Cleveland's veto. Theodore Roosevelt , then a member of the Assembly , had reluctantly voted for the bill with the intention of holding railroad barons accountable. After

12707-531: The re-election of Thomas F. Grady , their point man in the State Senate. Cleveland also steadfastly opposed other Tammany nominees, as well as bills passed as a result of their deal-making. The loss of Tammany's support was offset by the support of Theodore Roosevelt and other reform-minded Republicans, who helped Cleveland pass several laws to reform municipal governments. Cleveland closely worked with Roosevelt, who served as assembly minority leader in 1883;

12838-412: The return of Chinese immigrants who left the United States. The Scott Act easily passed both houses of Congress, and Cleveland signed it into law on October 1, 1888. Cleveland viewed Native Americans as wards of the state , saying in his first inaugural address that "[t]his guardianship involves, on our part, efforts for the improvement of their condition and enforcement of their rights." He encouraged

12969-864: The return of approximately 81,000,000 acres (330,000 km ). Cleveland was the first Democratic president subject to the Tenure of Office Act which originated in 1867; the act purported to require the Senate to approve the dismissal of any presidential appointee who was originally subject to its advice and consent. Cleveland objected to the act in principle and his steadfast refusal to abide by it prompted its fall into disfavor and led to its ultimate repeal in 1887. As Congress and its Republican-led Senate sent Cleveland legislation he opposed, he often resorted to using his veto power. He vetoed hundreds of private pension bills for American Civil War veterans, believing that if their pensions requests had already been rejected by

13100-600: The same time that the Democrats gained support from the Mugwumps, they lost some blue-collar workers to the Greenback-Labor party , led by ex-Democrat Benjamin Butler. In general, Cleveland abided by the precedent of minimizing presidential campaign travel and speechmaking; Blaine became one of the first to break with that tradition. The campaign focused on the candidates' moral standards, as each side cast aspersions on their opponents. Cleveland's supporters rehashed

13231-483: The speech as a "fiasco" for Parker from which the candidate did not recover. After this initial speech, Parker retreated into a strategy of silence again, avoiding comment on all major issues. Parker's campaign soon proved to be poorly run as well. Parker and his advisors opted for a front porch campaign , in which delegations would be brought to Rosemount to see Parker speak on the model of McKinley's successful 1896 campaign. However, due to Esopus's remote location and

13362-473: The tariff was that of most Democrats: that the tariff ought to be reduced. Republicans generally favored a high tariff to protect American industries. American tariffs had been high since the Civil War, and by the 1880s the tariff brought in so much revenue that the government was running a surplus. In 1886, a bill to reduce the tariff was narrowly defeated in the House. The tariff issue was emphasized in

13493-399: The time the convention cast their votes, it was clear that no candidate but Parker could unify the party, and he was selected on the first ballot. Henry G. Davis , an elderly West Virginia millionaire and former senator, was selected as the vice presidential candidate in the hope that he would partially finance Parker's campaign. The convention was riven by debate over whether to include

13624-460: The top of Buffalo's legal community. Up to that point, Cleveland's political career had been honorable and unexceptional. As biographer Allan Nevins wrote, "Probably no man in the country, on March 4, 1881, had less thought than this limited, simple, sturdy attorney of Buffalo that four years later he would be standing in Washington and taking the oath as President of the United States." It

13755-465: The traditionally Democratic Solid South , accumulating 140 electoral votes. Parker telegraphed his congratulations to Roosevelt that night and returned to private life. In Irving Stone 's 1943 book, They Also Ran , about defeated presidential candidates, the author stated that Parker was the only defeated presidential candidate in history never to have a biography written about him. Stone theorized that Parker would have been an effective president and

13886-541: The tribal governments and allowed individual Indians to sell land and keep the money. In the month before Cleveland's 1885 inauguration, President Arthur opened four million acres of Winnebago and Crow Creek Indian lands in the Dakota Territory to white settlement by executive order. Tens of thousands of settlers gathered at the border of these lands and prepared to take possession of them. Cleveland believed Arthur's order to be in violation of treaties with

14017-431: The tribes, and rescinded it on April 17 of that year, ordering the settlers out of the territory. Cleveland sent in eighteen companies of Army troops to enforce the treaties and ordered General Philip Sheridan , at the time Commanding General of the U.S. Army, to investigate the matter. Cleveland was 47 years old when he entered the White House as a bachelor. His sister Rose Cleveland joined him, acting as hostess for

14148-451: The veto, Roosevelt and other legislators reversed their position, and Cleveland's veto was sustained. Cleveland's defiance of political corruption won him popular acclaim. Yet it also brought the enmity of New York City's influential Tammany Hall organization and its boss, John Kelly . Tammany Hall and Kelly had disapproved of Cleveland's nomination for governor, and their resistance intensified after Cleveland openly opposed and prevented

14279-529: The votes of disaffected Republicans by nominating a more honest candidate. Party leaders approached Cleveland, who agreed to run for Mayor of Buffalo provided the party's slate of candidates for other offices was to his liking. More notorious politicians were left off the Democratic ticket and he accepted the nomination. Cleveland was elected mayor that November with 15,120 votes, while his Republican opponent Milton Earl Beebe received 11,528 votes. He took office on January 2, 1882. Cleveland's term as mayor

14410-478: The war. As a lawyer, Cleveland became known for his single-minded concentration and dedication to hard work. In 1866, he successfully defended some participants in the Fenian raid , working on a pro bono basis (free of charge). In 1868, Cleveland attracted professional attention for his winning defense of a libel suit against the editor of Buffalo's Commercial Advertiser . During this time, Cleveland assumed

14541-416: The woman who asserted he had fathered her son Oscar Folsom Cleveland and he assumed responsibility. Shortly before the 1884 election , the Republican media published an affidavit from Halpin in which she stated that until she met Cleveland, her "life was pure and spotless", and "there is not, and never was, a doubt as to the paternity of our child, and the attempt of Grover Cleveland, or his friends, to couple

14672-422: Was "immoral" and for allegedly acting cruelly by not raising the child himself. In the 1870s, the municipal government in Buffalo had grown increasingly corrupt, with Democratic and Republican political machines cooperating to share the spoils of political office. When the Republicans nominated a slate of particularly disreputable machine politicians for the 1881 election, Democrats saw an opportunity to gain

14803-471: Was a committed non-interventionist who had campaigned in opposition to expansion and imperialism. He refused to promote the previous administration's Nicaragua canal treaty, and generally was less of an expansionist in foreign relations. Cleveland's Secretary of State, Thomas F. Bayard, negotiated with Joseph Chamberlain of the United Kingdom over fishing rights in the waters off Canada, and struck

14934-472: Was a formidable policymaker but also garnered criticism. He intervened in the 1894 Pullman Strike to keep the railroads moving, angering Illinois Democrats and labor unions nationwide; his support of the gold standard and opposition to free silver alienated the agrarian wing of the Democrats. Critics complained that Cleveland had little imagination and seemed overwhelmed by the nation's economic disasters— depressions and strikes —in his second term. By

15065-415: Was a retention of the status quo , and a postponement of the resolution of the free-silver issue. Another contentious financial issue at the time was the protective tariff . These tariffs had been implemented as a temporary measure during the civil war to protect American industrial interests but remained in place after the war. While it had not been a central point in his campaign, Cleveland's opinion on

15196-638: Was an American judge. He was the Democratic nominee in the 1904 United States presidential election , losing in a landslide to incumbent Republican Theodore Roosevelt . A native of upstate New York , Parker practiced law in Kingston, New York , before being appointed to the New York Supreme Court and elected to the New York Court of Appeals . He served as Chief Judge of the latter from 1898 to 1904, when he resigned to run for president. In 1904, he defeated liberal publisher William Randolph Hearst for

15327-574: Was appointed assistant district attorney of Erie County, New York . With the American Civil War raging, Congress passed the Conscription Act of 1863 , requiring able-bodied men to serve in the army if called upon, or else to hire a substitute. Cleveland chose the latter course, paying $ 150, equivalent to $ 3,712 in 2023, to George Benninsky, a thirty-two-year-old Polish immigrant, to serve in his place. Benninsky survived

15458-543: Was appointed lead trial counsel in the impeachment of New York governor William "Plain Bill" Sulzer. Sulzer faced eight articles of impeachment, alleging that he made and filed a false statement regarding his campaign accounts, perjured himself in verifying the statement concerning his campaign accounts, bribed witnesses and fraudulently induced them to withhold evidence from the legislative committee investigating his misconduct, suppressed evidence by threatening witnesses, dissuaded

15589-403: Was aware of graft in the sheriff's office during his tenure and chose not to confront it. A notable incident of his term took place on September 6, 1872, when Patrick Morrissey was executed. He had been convicted of murdering his mother. As sheriff, Cleveland was responsible for either personally carrying out the execution or paying a deputy $ 10 to perform the task. In spite of reservations about

15720-579: Was born on March 18, 1837, in Caldwell, New Jersey , to Ann (née Neal) and Richard Falley Cleveland . Cleveland's father was a Congregational and Presbyterian minister who was originally from Connecticut . His mother was from Baltimore and was the daughter of a bookseller. On his father's side, Cleveland was descended from English ancestors, the first of the family having emigrated to Massachusetts from Cleveland , England, in 1635. His father's maternal grandfather , Richard Falley Jr. , fought at

15851-659: Was confirmed by the narrow margin of 32 to 28. Chief Justice Morrison Waite died a few months later, and Cleveland nominated Melville Fuller to fill his seat on April 30, 1888. Fuller accepted. The Senate Judiciary Committee spent several months examining the little-known nominee, before the Senate confirmed the nomination 41 to 20. Alton B. Parker Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other Alton Brooks Parker (May 14, 1852 – May 10, 1926)

15982-552: Was considered to be pro-labor and was an active supporter of social reform legislation, for example upholding a maximum-hours law as constitutional. His judicial opinions were noted "for their forceful diction, comprehensive grasp of the fundamental questions involved, unsparing labor in citing precedents, close reasoning, and their tendency to disregard merely technicalities." During his time as Chief Judge, Parker and his wife sold their Kingston home and bought an estate in Esopus on

16113-419: Was doing his job well, and would not appoint anyone solely on the basis of party service. He also used his appointment powers to reduce the number of federal employees, as many departments had become bloated with political time-servers. Later in his term, as his fellow Democrats chafed at being excluded from the spoils, Cleveland began to replace more of the partisan Republican officeholders with Democrats; this

16244-553: Was during this period that Cleveland began courting a widow, Maria Halpin . She later accused him of raping her. It is unclear if Halpin was actually raped by Cleveland as some early reports stated or if their relationship was consensual. In March 1876, Cleveland accused Halpin of being an alcoholic and had her child removed from her custody. The child was taken to the Protestant Orphan Asylum, and Cleveland paid for his stay there. Cleveland had Halpin admitted to

16375-585: Was especially the case with policymaking positions. While some of his decisions were influenced by party concerns, more of Cleveland's appointments were decided by merit alone than was the case in his predecessors' administrations. Cleveland also reformed other parts of the government. In 1887, he signed an act creating the Interstate Commerce Commission . He and Secretary of the Navy William C. Whitney undertook to modernize

16506-462: Was further weakened when the Conkling faction and President Chester Arthur refused to give Blaine their strong support. Democratic party leaders believed the Republicans' choice gave them an opportunity to win the White House for the first time since 1856 if the right candidate could be found. Among the Democrats, Samuel J. Tilden was the initial front-runner, having been the party's nominee in

16637-449: Was inaugurated. Angered Westerners and Southerners advocated for cheap money to help their poorer constituents. In reply, one of the foremost silverites, Richard P. Bland , introduced a bill in 1886 that would require the government to coin unlimited amounts of silver, inflating the then-deflating currency. While Bland's bill was defeated, so was a bill the administration favored that would repeal any silver coinage requirement. The result

16768-685: Was spent fighting the entrenched interests of the party machines. Among the acts that established his reputation was a veto of the street-cleaning bill passed by the Common Council . The street-cleaning contract had been the subject of competitive bidding, and the Council selected the highest bidder at $ 422,000, rather than the lowest at $ 100,000 less, because of the political connections of the bidder. While this sort of bipartisan graft had previously been tolerated in Buffalo, Mayor Cleveland would have none of it. His veto message said, "I regard it as

16899-399: Was successfully adopted. For this, and other actions safeguarding public funds, Cleveland began to gain a reputation beyond Erie County as a leader willing to purge government corruption. New York Democratic party officials started to consider Cleveland a possible nominee for governor. Daniel Manning , a party insider who admired Cleveland's record, was instrumental in his candidacy. With

17030-404: Was the senior partner. He then enrolled at Albany Law School . After graduating with an LL.B. degree in 1873, he practiced law in Kingston until 1878 as the senior partner of the firm Parker & Kenyon. Parker also became active with the Democratic Party . In 1877, he won election as surrogate court judge of Ulster County, and he was elected to a new six-year term in 1883. He served as

17161-564: Was worth less than its legal equivalent in gold, taxpayers paid their government bills in silver, while international creditors demanded payment in gold, resulting in a depletion of the nation's gold supply. Cleveland and Treasury Secretary Daniel Manning stood firmly on the side of the gold standard, and tried to reduce the amount of silver that the government was required to coin under the Bland–Allison Act of 1878. Cleveland unsuccessfully appealed to Congress to repeal this law before he

#832167