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Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, the son of a Presbyterian minister. As a young man, Cleveland left New Jersey to study law in New York. He went on to serve as Erie County sheriff (where he also served as hangman on one occasion), Mayor of Buffalo and Governor of New York. When it was revealed that as a bachelor politician he had fathered a child out of wedlock, Cleveland told his press secretary to “just tell them the truth.” The scandal fizzled.
Cleveland was the leader of a pro-business wing of the Democratic Party that opposed high tariffs, free silver, inflation, imperialism and subsidies to business, farmers or veterans. In those days party stereotypes were different than they are today. Cleveland's pursuit of political reform and fiscal conservatism made him an icon for American conservatives. Cleveland won praise for his honesty, independence and integrity. (One biography of him is entitled An Honest President). As a reformer he fought against political corruption and patronage. It was in his second term that the Panic of 1893 occurred, a severe national depression that Cleveland was unable to reverse. It ruined his Democratic party, opening the way for Republican landslides in 1894 and 1896.
Cleveland took strong positions and in turn took heavy criticism. His intervention in the Pullman Strike of 1894 to keep the railroads moving angered labor unions nationwide and angered the party in Illinois. His support of the gold standard and opposition to free silver alienated the agrarian wing of the Democratic Party. His critics complained that he had little imagination and seemed overwhelmed by the nation's economic disasters (depressions and strikes) in his second term. But his reputation for honesty and good character survived the troubles of his second term.
Cleveland's biographer Allan Nevins wrote, "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."
Cleveland entered the White house as a bachelor, but did not remain one for long. In 1885, the daughter of Cleveland's friend Oscar Folsom visited him in Washington. Frances Folsom was a student at Wells College, and when she returned to school Cleveland received her mother's permission to correspond with her. They were soon engaged to be married On June 2, 1886, Cleveland married Frances in the Blue Room in the White House. He was the second president to marry while in office, and the only president to have a wedding in the White House. This marriage was unusual because Cleveland was the executor of Oscar Folsom's estate and had supervised Frances' upbringing, but the public did not, in general, take exception to the match. At twenty-one years old, Frances was the youngest-ever First Lady, but the public soon warmed to her beauty and warm personality. The Clevelands had five children.
After leaving the White House, Cleveland retired to his estate, Westland Mansion, in Princeton, New Jersey. He was a trustee of Princeton University, where he clashed with Woodrow Wilson, then president of the university on some issues. Cleveland weighed in on the women's suffrage movement' He wrote "sensible and responsible women do not want to vote. The relative positions to be assumed by men and women in the working out of our civilization were assigned long ago by a higher intelligence."
Cleveland's health had been declining for several years, and in 1908, he suffered a heart attack and died. His last words were "I have tried so hard to do right." He is buried in the Princeton Cemetery of the Nassau Presbyterian Church. His photo appears on the $1000 bill.
