Grover Cleveland - TheUSAPresidents.com

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Grover Cleveland: Twenty-second and twenty-fourth president of the United States from 1885 - 1889 & 1893 - 1897

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Grover Cleveland (born Stephen Grover Cleveland) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. He was a Democrat and was the only Democratic president between 1861 and 1913. Cleveland did not like big business and believed in a low tariff. He is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms.

Birth & early life

Cleveland was born on March 18, 1837 in Caldwell, New Jersey. His parents were Richard Falley Cleveland and Ann Neal. Cleveland would receive an ordinary education, but when he was sixteen (in 1853) his father died. Since his father died, Cleveland had to stop going to school and instead would work to help support the family. He denied a job to be a minister, and so he moved westward. He went to Buffalo, New York, and became a clerk for a very important law firm that Millard Fillmore had actually once went too. Over time though, he would learn more about law and, in 1859, was admitted to the bar in New York. He continued working for the firm until 1862. In 1863, Congress passed a law that said that able-bodied men that were called to service had to serve in the Union military, as the Civil War was going on during this time. However, the law also allowed people to pay for substitutes, which Cleveland did. He paid $150 (around $3500 today) for a Polish immigrant to take his place. This Polish immigrant (George Benninsky) would survive the war.

Political career

Cleveland during his entire political career was a Democrat. In January 1863, Cleveland had left the law firm in Buffalo to instead serve as Assistant District Attorney of Erie County. During the mid-1860s, Cleveland got a reputation of being focused and hardworking. He used a lot of his money to support his family, choosing to live in a regular boarding house.

Death

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