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Grover Cleveland: president and Princetonian

A century after his death, Cleveland is remembered for his integrity

By William Myers Special Writer
‘In Grover Cleveland the greatness lies in typical rather than unusual qualities. He had no endowments that thousands of men do not have. He possessed honesty, courage, firmness, independence, and common sense. But he possessed them to a degree other men do not.’
Allan Nevins, ‘Grover Cleveland: A Study in Courage’ (1932), Pulitzer Prize-winning biography 
    Princeton has hosted many presidents of the United States — yet only one, Grover Cleveland, chose the town for his retirement home and final resting place.
    At the time, Princeton was considered a rural community, appropriate for a man who enjoyed serenity and the outdoors. Cleveland’s Scots Presbyterian origins made the college and the former president a perfect match. Although the assessment of his presidency varies considerably, Cleveland may be a contender for one distinction — he certainly stands among the most interesting and unusual of America’s presidents.
    Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 — June 24, 1908) was born to a Presbyterian minister in Caldwell, Essex County, N.J. While intending to migrate to Ohio, he stayed with an uncle in Buffalo, N.Y., where he realized that Buffalo presented him with more favorable opportunities. During a successful career as a lawyer, Cleveland ran for sheriff of Erie County and won. He was diligent and conscientious, always making certain that goods bought for the office were of proper quality and quantity. Wishing to spare an underling the stigma of executing criminals, Cleveland personally attended to the executions of two murderers, pulling the lever himself. His friends said he was ill for days as a result.
    The conscientious sheriff was asked to run for mayor of Buffalo on the Democratic ticket. He accepted with reluctance. During a successful stint as mayor, he ran for governor and won.
    Cleveland’s rise to national prominence began with his fight against rampant corruption in New York State. He was intolerant of influence peddling and secret deals. If anyone sought to whisper a deal with him, he would answer so loudly the entire room would realize what was happening. Cleveland was known for his honesty, stubbornness, temper and humility. This reputation for honesty in an age of corruption led Cleveland to a run for the White House.
    Cleveland’s presidency includes many firsts. He was the first Democrat to be elected following the Civil War; he was the first president to be married in the White House; his daughter, Esther, was the first child born in the White House, and as the 22nd and 24th president, Cleveland was the first and only president to serve non- consecutive terms (1885 to 1889 and 1893 to 1897). He was also the only president to be born in New Jersey.
    As president, Cleveland opposed public spending promoted by the Republican-controlled Senate. He vetoed attempts to provide pensions for Civil War veterans, specifying many fraudulent claims. The vetoes did not end there — disabled veterans were denied benefits for non-combat injuries. Cleveland held the record for presidential vetoes until Franklin Roosevelt’s third term.
    During the 1888 elections, Cleveland won the popular vote, although his Republican opponent, Benjamin Harrison, won the electoral vote. Cleveland left the White House to open a law office in New York City. He ran for president again in 1892, emphasizing his opposition to government spending.
    Soon after his return to office, a four-year depression descended on the country. By the time he left office, his economic policies and his initial failure to support a new Hawaiian republic had led to resentment and ridicule. Many observers considered him the most detested man in America.
    On a brighter note, Cleveland modernized and strengthened the U.S. Navy, including the construction of the battleship U.S.S. Maine; these improvements led to victory during the Spanish-American War, which was fought the year after his presidency.
    Among the derogatory nicknames Cleveland was given during his political career are “The Beast of Buffalo” and “The Hangman.” Cleveland enjoyed beer and cigars — he was known for his paunch. His nieces and nephews called him “Uncle Jumbo.” His habit of smoking cigars most likely contributed to cancer of the palate, which was diagnosed in 1893. The operation to remove the tumor was kept secret from the press and public. In the guise of a yachting trip, the operation was performed at sea. The press was deceived into believing the President had two teeth pulled. The true story was not revealed until 25 years later.
    There are other points of interest in Cleveland’s presidency. Cleveland occasionally answered the White House’s single telephone if it rang while his clerks were off duty. Cleveland became the first president to appear in motion pictures — not precisely a film but a “picture play,” a series of sequential photographs viewed through a peephole machine, titled “A Capital Courtship” and filmed by Alexander Black in 1896. Cleveland appears in three 1897 films made during McKinley’s inauguration.
    Although these films are silent, Grover Cleveland’s voice has been recorded. A widely circulated recording of an 1892 campaign speech may not be authentic, though another recording from this campaign, in which Cleveland evokes the spirit of 1776, is believed to be genuine.
    The first electrically illuminated Christmas tree at the White House was unveiled in December 1895, an event credited with popularizing the use of electric Christmas lights.
    Princeton University celebrated its sesquicentennial in 1896, with former President Cleveland and his wife in attendance. Just as Andrew Carnegie had, Cleveland considered Princeton for his retirement. Arrangements were made by his friend Andrew Fleming West for the purchase of Commodore Robert Stockton’s former home. The house, modeled after Morven, still stands, and is privately owned; it is still known by the name Cleveland gave to it as gratitude to his friend — Westland.
    The former president was soon active with the university and, despite having never attended college, accepted an invitation to join the board of trustees. He negotiated with Andrew Carnegie to construct an artificial “loch” on the Millstone River, similar to those he had constructed in Scotland. Cleveland also took sides with West during the Graduate School controversy against Woodrow Wilson. Students frequently thronged his home during Princeton events such as football victories, singing patriotic songs and firing volleys into the air.
    Cleveland was an outdoorsman who refused to allow the most violent storms from interrupting his fishing. He enjoyed duck hunting and referred to his favorite shotgun as “Old Death and Destruction.” These pursuits occupied much of his life during his Princeton years. In addition to his political writings, Cleveland wrote many articles for sporting magazines and a book, “Fishing and Shooting Sketches.”
    While spending time at the Shore in Lakewood during the spring of 1908, Cleveland took ill. He was taken to his home in Princeton, where he died on the morning of June 24, 1908. His funeral was attended by President Theodore Roosevelt. Cleveland was laid to rest in Princeton Cemetery. His humility is reflected in the inscription, which simply states his name and vital statistics.
    During the past few years, supporters of Hawaiian sovereignty, visiting from Hawaii, have been decorating Cleveland’s gravestone with beads, shells and coins, as is Hawaiian custom, in tribute to his initial opposition to the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani in a coup d’etat in 1893.
    One of the last avowedly anti- imperialist presidents, Cleveland, in a scathing message to Congress, denounced what he saw at the time as an abuse of U.S. power. He withdrew his opposition, however, when an investigation concluded that the coup d’etat had indeed been an indigenous Hawaiian affair. The Cleveland administration recognized the government of the Hawaiian Republic in 1894. Spurred by the nationalism aroused by the Spanish-American War, the United States annexed Hawaii in 1898 at the urging of President William McKinley.
William Myers of Highland Park, writer and translator, is a 10th-generation descendant of Henry Greenland, one of Princeton’s first settlers (1681). Mr. Myers has a longstanding interest in Princeton history.