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In his first term, Cleveland surprised many, including those in his own party, by bucking the trend of giving plum government jobs to his supporters. Instead he said that he would not fire anyone from the other party who was doing his job properly and also refused to appoint anyone solely based on their support for him. A Democrat, Cleveland was opposed to expansion of government and was a non-interventionist when it came to foreign policy.
After being defeated in the election of 1888, Cleveland's wife Frances said to a White House staff member, "Now, Jerry, I want you to take good care of all the furniture and ornaments in the house, for I want to find everything just as it is now, when we come back again." When asked when she would return, she responded, "We are coming back four years from today."
She was right. The second term was a rough one however. It began with an economic depression, the "Panic of 1893". That led to labour unrest. In the midst of this, Cleveland was diagnosed with cancer which led to the removal of a portion of his jaw. This news was kept quiet in the press, under a cover story of the removal of two bad teeth.
After his second term, Cleveland declined offers to seek a third, and retired to his estate in Princeton, New Jersey, where he is buried today. Perhaps one of the most telling reminders of Cleveland's legacy is in the title of a biography of him by auther Paul Jeffers. It's entitled "An Honest President."
