GROVER CLEVELAND ~ 22nd/24th U.S. PRESIDENT ~ 1885-89/93-97 ~ 24k Gold-Plated

Description

Twenty-second President of the United States
GROVER CLEVELAND
1885 – 1889
The first Democrat elected president after the Civil War, Grover Cleveland was born in New Jersey but raised in upstate New York. He practiced law after college and at age 44 rose to political prominence as mayor of Buffalo and, later, governor of New York. With the combined support of both Democrats and disenchanted Republicans, Cleveland won the presidency in 1884. He vigorously opposed some special interest groups and the types of federal aid that weakened “the sturdiness of our national character.” A middle-aged bachelor uneasy with Washington formalities, Cleveland married the youthful Frances Folsom in a White House ceremony in 1886. Republican Benjamin Harrison, with fewer popular votes but more electoral votes, defeated Cleveland in 1888.
Twenty-fourth President of the United States
GROVER CLEVELAND
1893 – 1897
The only president to lose his bid for re-election and return for a second term four years later, Grover Cleveland began his second term during an economic depression. He dealt with subsequent crises with characteristic directness, obtaining the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and working with the treasury to maintain its gold reserves. When striking railroad workers caused delays in postal service, Cleveland acted swiftly. “If it takes the entire army and navy of the United Sates to deliver a postcard in Chicago,” he thundered, “that card will be delivered.” Most Americans applauded his blunt treatment of the recalcitrant workers and approved of his vigorous, no-nonsense approach to foreign policy. But Cleveland’s unpopular domestic policies cost him his party’s nomination in 1896.