Grover Cleveland's first term as President of the United States saw him attempting to reform the Federal Government, though he did little legistlating.

Grover Cleveland had risen from utter obscurity to the office of the President of the United States in only three years. What people knew of their new leader was that he was going to bring change to the Federal Government. He would not allow corruption into his politics, and he would appoint officials according to their qualifications and nothing else.

By the standards of most who have examined Cleveland's Presidency, this is exactly what he did. Living up to expectations, Cleveland fought hard for his appointments on all levels, both Cabinet and lower officials.

In doing this, Cleveland sought to make the Government more efficient by placing it in more capable hands who were more focused on getting things done than in winning favor and being granted patronage appointments.

Legislative Agenda

Critics of Cleveland's administration in this first term generally do not point to specific mistakes on the part of the Presidency, but rather to a seeming lack of action altogether.

Cleveland seemed to favor a "passive" Presidency, where his capable cabinet officials were delegated most of the responsibility, and he was left with the final decision. His administration did not send much legislation to Congress, nor did it petition that body to achieve its own agenda. The focus was more on getting things running smoothly.

There are a couple important exceptions to this, however.

First and foremost revolved around the nation's continually fluctuating economy. Since its creation a century earlier, the nation had been through several panics and depressions, and there was no consistency in the economy. Cleveland, like many on both sides (including Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes), favored an economy based on "hard" money - where all paper bills were firmly backed by a gold standard.

Those who opposed the gold standard generally favored an inflationary view of currency based on the free coinage of silver and the printing of more paper money, which would send more currency into the hands of the lower class (though with inflation this effect would partly be nullified).

Cleveland was able to get Congress to repeal the Bland-Allison Silver Purchase act of 1787, which President Hayes had opposed (and vetoed), though had been unable to stop.

The second of Cleveland's legislative agendas was not as successful. Like many Democrats since the time of Thomas Jefferson (though they were then known as Democratic-Republicans), Cleveland was in favor of a lowered tariff, which would encourage a more free-market economy.

This had been attempted by his predecessor, Chester A. Arthur, as well (who had seen the surpluss brought in by the high tariff as "embarassing"), but neither President was able to do much about it. The tariff had been lowered slightly in 1884, but Cleveland could not do much more.

Other Issues

Grover Cleveland, though quite admirable in his views on rooting out corruption and making Government more efficient, is not without his controversial views.

As a Democrat, he possessed certain sympathies for the southerners who still attempted to limit the civil rights of blacks in those states. He became a friend of the former members of the Confederacy, favoring segregation in schools and elsewhere.

On other ethnic fronts, Cleveland did not appreciate the poor treatment of Chinese workers in the west, though saw their culture being so different from that of Americans that there was nothing that could be done about it. As far as the Native American population goes, Cleveland desired to see them assimilate into American culture, though he did not do very much in this regard.

End of First Term

As Cleveland's first term came to an end and the Election of 1888 arose, the incumbant was easily renominated by his party, going up against the Civil War hero Benjamin Harrison of the Republican Party.

The 1888 election was unique during that time, as it was one of few that truly did seem to focus primarily on actual issues, rather than personal attacks. Harrison focused his campaign on the issue of the protective tariff, which endeared him amongst northern voters.

Harrison was able to take away some of the swing states that Cleveland had won four years earlier, and while he narrowly lost the popular vote (by less than 100,000 after more than 10 million cast), he won the electoral vote by sixty five, thus ousting Cleveland from office (this was the third time a candidate had won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote - the same had happened to Andrew Jackson in 1824 and Samuel Tilden in 1876).

Four Years Later

While Many viewed Cleveland's political career to be over after this disappointing loss, his wife, Frances, was much more optimistic. She is said to have told a White House staffer upon leaving, "...I want you to take good care of all the furniture and ornaments in the house, for I want to find everything just as it is now, when we come back again."

After four years of living in New York and practicing law once again, Cleveland did indeed come back to face Harrison in the election of 1892, this time with greater success. After a four year hiatus, Cleveland won both the popular and the electoral vote by a wide margin, thus becoming the first President to serve two non-consecutive terms in office.

For more information see:

The Rise of Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland's Second Term

References:

"Grover Cleveland." American Presidents: An Online Reference Resource.

"Biography of Grover Cleveland." The White House.