Stephen Grover Cleveland example essay topic

On March 18, 1837 in the small town of Caldwell, New Jersey, Stephen Grover Cleveland was born the fifth of a soon to be family of nine. His father was a minister, and raised Grover (he preferred Grover to Stephen) on Bible verses, and fine literature such as Shakespeare. During his childhood he moved around quite a bit. First they moved to the town of Fayetteville, and then to Clinton, New York. There he was enrolled in a school called the Clinton Liberal Institute. However his schooling did not last very long.

At the age of 14 he dropped out of school and got a job as a clerk at a general store in Fayetteville. Grover regretted this decision and decided that he wanted to go to college and become a lawyer. However because of financial troubles he was able to achieve this goal until later in his life. He had several jobs until he landed the one that would change the rest of his life. Grover became the clerk at a local law firm called Rodgers, Bowen, and Rodgers. Here he learned the "in's and out's" of the legal system.

He was eventually admitted to the New York bar. At this point in his life he became extremely interested in politics, especially Democratic politics. In 1870 he decided to run for Sheriff of the city of Buffalo, and he won the election. While sheriff, he found that the political leaders were cheating the prisoners out of their food. Enraged by this Grover immediately put an end to it.

This was foreshadowing to how he would react to scandal and injustices during his presidency. When Cleveland was elected President he was well aware of the responsibility he held as being the first Democratic president sense the Civil war. As president he worked hard on reforming the federal government. He first hired better government officials, and put an end to the political scandal that had corrupted the government. He also was extremely wise with money.

He made sure that the Navy got the best ships possible for the least amount of money. He also demanded and forced the railroads to return 81 million acres of government land that they had taken illegally. Often times he sat at his desk late into the night studying every bill Congress passed. He ended up vetoing more then 300 of them. This earned him the name "The Veto President". In 1888 one of the countries biggest problem was the tariff, or the tax on imported goods.

The merchants wanted a high tariff so that they could charge more for their products, while the farmers wanted a low tariff so that they could buy goods cheaply. Cleveland stood for the low tariff. This stance eventually lost him the election of 1888, and he soon moved out of the White House. While the Cleveland's where moving out of the white house Mrs. Cleveland told one of the servants, "Take care of all the furniture and ornaments in the house, don't let any get lost or broken, and have everything just the way it is now when we come back in four years". In making this statement she was actually predicting the future. Grover became the first president to win two non-consecutive terms as president.

Cleveland's second term was much like that of his first. He worked hard to do what was right for the people, whether it was popular or not. When a railroad strike interfered with the U.S. Mail, he sent federal troops to end the strike. Cleveland said, "If it takes the entire army and navy to deliver one postcard in Chicago, that card will be delivered". After his second term in office Cleveland retired to the town of Princeton New Jersey.

There he lived with his family and enjoyed the rest of his life. When he was 71 his health began to fail and he was forced to spend much time in bed. His last words were, "I have tried so hard to do right". In that one sentence Grover was able to summarize his entire life. As citizens of Princeton barred his body on June 24, 1904 they announced him as "Grover the Good.".