RateItAll: The Opinion Network

I don't know much about him

Not much going on here, but then we didn't need or expect a lot. The country was growing and what guidance did we need, really?

One of the brighter lights among the generally long descent from the glories of the Founding Fathers to the present dark ages and the age of George W. Bush, lies, and thuggery.

Decent enough President, probably ranking somewhere in the middle. Wouldn't have wanted him anywhere near my snacks though.

A recent restrospective of Clevelands two terms give a less then flattering view of the man- nonetheless he did begin to understand the need for reform in some of the nations burgeoning huge business trusts, as well as reforms for workers rights, child labor reform, government reform in food processing, and womens sufferage.

Believed that his job was not to do good things but to keep bad things from happening.. During his first term he used his veto twice as many times as all his predecessors combined.. Answered his own phone and even answered the White House door himself.. The first and only President to get married in the White House.. Doomed his reelection campaign in 1888 when he came down against pensions for Civil War veterans.. Actually won the popular vote in 1888 but lost the Electoral College.. On leaving the White House the first time his wife told the staff to take good care of the place because she and her husband would be back - and they were four years later.

You people should be ashamed of your self he was a President and most importantly he was a person like us and how would you feel if someone called you terrible when all you did was to help people? well,well thats what i thought ! he was my favorite pres. so your TERRIBLE.

Robert Higgs, Research Director for the Independent Institute, said this of Clevelsnd, He kept the country at peace. He respected the Constitution, acknowledging that the national government has only a limited mission to perform and shaped his policies accordingly. He fought to lower tariffs; preserved the gold standard in its time of crisis; and restored order forcibly when hoodlums disturbed the peace on a wide front during the great railroad strike of 1894. Though I disagree with Mr. Higgs on many fronts, he nails my opinion of Cleveland perfectly. Grover Cleveland greatness can not be overstated. He is easily one of the five greatest presidents in U.S. history.

Hardest working president of all time. Did his best to fulfill the mandate of the people although his own opinions and policies were not fully known.

A good President. He almost became President three times. He didn't do a lot (there wasn't much to be done), but he did stabilize the economy and forbid us into stealing Hawaii (which we later stole anyway).

Good reformer.

I second the 'one star per nonconsecutive terms.' Probably a stooge for Montgomery Burns.

Grover Cleveland was very principled as President, but he didn't really do a good job pushing his agenda. At heart, Cleveland was a classic Jeffersonian. He believed in individual initiative and this appealed to the rural core of the Democratic party, which at that time was based in the rural areas of this country. In many ways however, Cleveland was fighting the tides of change. The Industrial Revolution was gaining steam in this country and along with this, workers were beginning to demand their rights. Centralization was inevitable in a society like this and Cleveland didn't respond to the mood of the country. Trusts, huge business enterprises, were beginning to drown out the small entrepreneur. Cleveland, for all his advocacy for the little person, was tied down by a strict constitutional view that the President could not intervene to break up these entities. Democrats tried however to turn the issue on the Republicans, charging that they wanted to stop fair competition by endorsing tariffs that allowed for trusts to grow in the first place, but it didn't work. It wasn't until Theodore Roosevelt that these monopolies would be broken up. However, the big issue of the times was the protective tariff. The Republicans at the time were big on protectionism. Indeed, the Republicans really didn't become free traders until the Reagan years. At the time, the main source of government revenue came from tariffs on imports. The purpose was to protect industry and jobs. It was used as a means to promote nationalistic pride; American work for American laborers was the Republican slogan. They contended that the tariff therefore spread benefits to all the economic classes. Of course, the US didn't want to face competition from the British Empire, which was strong during the late 19th Century. However, tariffs did raise prices on consumer goods, so it ate away at peoples pockets anyways. So that was the fight that Cleveland faced. He did a good job considering that there were no easy solutions to these problems. Those matters would just balance themselves out at the end of the day. In his second term, Cleveland faced a huge depression like had never been seen before. The causes were complex, but it had to do with the balance of gold and silver in currency markets. It was more structural than anything really and it wasn't Clevelands fault. On foreign affairs, he was rather weak. The trend at the time internationally was to exert influence in the great global game. Cleveland didn't want to get involved, but the truth of the matter was that at the time, America needed to spread it's wings a bit. Cleveland didn't want the protective tariff, but in order to exert influence, the country had to make its stake known in places like Hawaii, Cuba, and the South Pacific. Cleveland didn't get that connection between dropping tariffs and exerting influence internationally. So in retrospect, Cleveland, for all his honesty and capability, will be confined to the mediocre middle tier of those who occupied the presidency. He failed to understand his place in time; his successors William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt would end up revolutionizing and strengthening America to heights never seen before.

Grover Cleveland is the only President to ever preside over two seperate administrations, one fro 1885-1889 and the other from 1893-1897. He was a man of devout principle. Cleveland was also a man of honesty and devotion, and every single executive action he made while in office was made because he believed it to be the right thing to do. However, unfortunately, he was unable to exhibit necessary amounts of leadership, espescially during the economic depression during his second term. [Presidential Leadership: ** out of ***** Stars] As I mentioned before, Grover Cleveland failed to exhibit much leadership during his time in the White House. Several pieces of important legislation were passed during his administration, but not due to his efforts. He did advocate significant tariff reductions, but due to his lack of leadership, was unable to achieve much change in that area. He vetoed several bills which would have provided drought relief to western farmers, something which did not help improve the economic conditions of the nation. In two areas, however, Cleveland exhibited significant amounts of leadership. Almost as soon as he assumed office, the Republicans tried to limit his power to remove Republican-appointed federal officials. Cleveland went all around the nation making speeches in opposition, and eventually forced the Republicans to back down. Moreover, Cleveland boldly brought the Monroe Doctrine back to life by sending warships to Venezuela to ward off British warships who hoped to pressure Venezuela into agreeing to extend the borders of British New Guiana into their territory. In his second term, Cleveland did not exhibit any amount of leadership during the economic depression other than successfully repealing The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, which had caused a significant reduction in the production of gold. In a move which signifies strong resolve or tyrannical rule, Cleveland sent federal troops to Chicago to put down a massive railroad strike, alienating many Northern workers from the Democratic Party. In short, Cleveland was not a party hack- rather, he did what he thought was right in his own heart. [2. Foreign Relations: ** out of *****] Cleveland's foreign policy was guided by his opposition to American expansionalism. He firmly opposed the annexation of the Hawaiin Islands. He did bring the Monroe Doctrine back to life by sending troops to Venezuela to face off British warships threatening the nation. Cleveland also declared the United States neutral in the Cuban Independence Issue, costing him a lot of support. His greatest resolve was his sending three warships to the Somoan islands to protect American interests there. This would lead to an eventual triple protectorate over the islands by England, the United States and Germany. [3. Economic Management: * out of ***** Stars] During Cleveland's second term, America entered its worst depression in its history. Due to his strict interpretation of the Constitution, he felt that the federal government had no constitutional powers to end the Depression, and it raged on until the start of the Spanish-American War in 1898 during the McKinley Administration. He vetoed several bills which would have provided drought relief to farmers in the west. Cleveland's failure to deal with the crisis cost the Democrats bigtime in the midterm elections in 1894. [4. Accomplishments/Vision for the Country: ** out of ***** Stars] Cleveland had no real vision for the United States, and giving his inability to exhibit significant amounts of leadership, I doubt that he would have been able to accomplish any of the goals that he may have had. [Final Score: 1.75- ** out of ***** Stars]. In the final analysis, Grover Cleveland is at best a mediocre President in the eyes of most historians. His resolve and dedication is admirable, and he did, in all actuality, do what he thought was right with every executive action he took. However, when you are in a profession in which your decisions affect the lives of so many.... it is not enough to simply believe yourself to be right; in all actuality, you HAVE to be right.

1 star for each of his nonconsecutive terms

Probably the best Democrat to serve as President. He tried to handle the economy with wisdom and discretion, instead of wasting taxpayer dollars in order to buy popularity and votes for himself. He also knew how to ignore bad advice.

he was the best president

Blaine should have been president. Clevlan was scum.

Although the best known of the "forgettable" presidents, Grover Cleveland is still best forgotten. Firstly, he was a snob and refused to cough up money for injured war veterans. Secondly, he LOVED the workingman--he treated the strikers at the monumental Pullman Strike of the early 1890's with a welcoming boatload of scabs and strike-beaters. Cleveland's days were a sad time for civil rights of both workers and blacks (Plessy vs. Ferguson). He humiliated the nation in the Panic of 1893 when the gov't was so impoverished that he had to beg J. P. Morgan to lend the nation money. Also, he was a little bit of a sicko. He raised a young girl called Frances in his household. When she was 21 he married her--he was 48. A bit like marrying your daughter... nice man, worked hard, lots of grit--but as I said, better forgotten...

This man was moral, even doing things that were unpopular.

Grover - you are a mad man!!!!!! Actually I don't have any idea what you did - I just like the name Grover!!!!!

The only President to regain his seat - that takes some toughness!

I'm anxious to read a biography that just came out on Cleveland. I believe its subtitled "a study in character" or something along those lines. I want to do my own research but the impression I received from some recent discussions about Cleveland is that he was a great defender of limited gov't, sound currency and economic freedom -- and a pricipled man as well. Told by advisors to drop his objections to trade tariffs because it would cost him the 1888 election (it did), he refused by saying: "What's the use of getting elected if you don't stand for something?" As someone who doesn't consider himself a Republican but appears partisan b/c the 20th century Democratic Party has been full of such despicable characters, I'm happy to have found a Democrat I can look up to! Here's to Grover Cleveland!