Presidents and Faith: Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was born on March 18, 1837, in Caldwell, New Jersey. His parents were Richard Falley Cleveland, a Presbyterian Minister, and Ann Neal Cleveland. The future President was named Stephen Grover in honor of the first pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Caldwell, where Cleveland's father was pastor at the time. In 1850, Cleveland's father took a pastorate in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, and the family relocated there. Three years later, in 1853, Cleveland's father took an assignment in Holland Patent, New York, near Utica. The elder Cleveland passed away shortly after moving there.
Cleveland was attending Clinton Liberal Academy at the time of his father's death. After his father died in 1853, he left school so as to help support his family. His brother William was hired as a teacher at the New York Institute for the Blind in New York City, and William obtained a place for Grover as an assistant teacher. He returned home to Holland Patent at the end of 1854 and an elder in his church offered to pay for his college education if he would promise to become a minister. Cleveland declined the offer, and in 1855 he moved to Buffalo, New York, where his uncle, Lewis F. Allen gave him a clerical job. Through his uncle, he was introduced to the partners in the law firm of Rogers, Bowen, and Rogers. Cleveland later took a clerkship with the firm. He read the law there and was admitted to the bar in New York State in 1859.
His political career advanced as Cleveland became a successful lawyer. He lost an election for district attorney in 1865, but in 1870 he was elected Sheriff of Erie County and in 1881 be won an election for Mayor of Buffalo. He held the position for less than a year and in November of 1882 he was elected Governor of New York. Two years later he was elected President of the United States, defeating Republican James G. Blaine and becoming the first Democratic President to be elected to the office since 1856.
Cleveland was not particularly attentive to attending church as a young man, despite his father's profession. Cleveland preferred to frequent the city's saloons, although some of his private correspondence indicates that his religious upbringing remained important to him. In a letter accepting his nomination to run for president in 1884, Cleveland promised to rely "upon the favor and support of the Supreme Being Who, I believe, will always bless honest human endeavor in the conscientious discharge of public duty."
Cleveland's first inaugural address was not riddled with religious themes, though he did promise to take action against the polygamy that was being practiced by the nation's Mormons, which he termed "offensive to the moral sense of the civilized world". He ended the speech with these words:
"And let us not trust to human effort alone, but humbly acknowledging the power and goodness of Almighty God, who presides over the destiny of nations, and who has at all times been revealed in our country's history, let us invoke His aid and His blessings upon our labors."
As President, Cleveland became more visibly religious while in the White House. He began to regularly attend the First Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., and did so throughout his time as president.
Midway through his first term in office, Cleveland married Frances Folsom in June of 1886. She was 21 years old and he was 49 at the time. She was the daughter of his friend Oscar Folson. It was Presbyterian ceremony officiated by the Reverend Byron Sutherland, assisted by the President's brother, Reverend William Cleveland.
Cleveland had the distinction of being defeated in his bid for re-election in 1888, but he became the first (and so far the only) president to serve two non-consecutive terms when he was elected to the office in 1892. He ended his second inaugural address by asking for God's help in carrying out his duties as president. He said:
"Above all, I know there is a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of men and whose goodness and mercy have always followed the American people, and I know He will not turn from us now if we humbly and reverently seek His powerful aid."
Economic problems precluded Cleveland from seeking a third term in office. In retirement he served on the board of trustees of Princeton University. He occasionally weighed in on political issues such as women's suffrage. (He wrote that "sensible and responsible women do not want to vote.") In 1904 his eldest daughter Ruth died at age 12 from diphtheria. The child's death seemed to cause him to question his faith. In his diary, he wrote several entries about his grief over the child's death. On January 10, 1904, three days after Ruth died, he wrote "I had a season of great trouble in keeping out of my mind the idea that Ruth was in the cold, cheerless grave instead of in the arms of her Saviour." The next day, he reiterated this sentiment in his diary, writing: "It seems to me I mourn our darling Ruth's death more and more. So much of the time I can only think of her as dead, not joyfully living in heaven." Five days later, on January 15th, he wrote: "God has come to my help and I am able to adjust my thought to dear Ruth's death with as much comfort as selfish humanity will permit."
Two years later, in a letter dated March 21, 1906 Presbyterian Minister Wilton Merle Smith, he wrote:
"I have quite often, lately, found myself longing for the rest of idleness, and and the peace of inactivity; and I have sometimes even given entrance to the thought that these were my due. But you have written words to me that will help me to constantly appreciate the fact that God who has blessed me above all other men, and directed all my ways, deserves my service, and every good cause deserves my best endeavour, as long as my life and strength shall last. I know as no one else can know my limitations, and how fixed and inexorable they are but I shall trust God, as I have in the past, for strength and opportunity for further usefulness."
Cleveland's health had been declining for several years, and in the autumn of 1907 he became very ill. In 1908, he suffered a heart attack and died on June 24th. His last words were reported to be "I have tried so hard to do right." He is buried in the Princeton Cemetery of the Nassau Presbyterian Church.
Cleveland was attending Clinton Liberal Academy at the time of his father's death. After his father died in 1853, he left school so as to help support his family. His brother William was hired as a teacher at the New York Institute for the Blind in New York City, and William obtained a place for Grover as an assistant teacher. He returned home to Holland Patent at the end of 1854 and an elder in his church offered to pay for his college education if he would promise to become a minister. Cleveland declined the offer, and in 1855 he moved to Buffalo, New York, where his uncle, Lewis F. Allen gave him a clerical job. Through his uncle, he was introduced to the partners in the law firm of Rogers, Bowen, and Rogers. Cleveland later took a clerkship with the firm. He read the law there and was admitted to the bar in New York State in 1859.
His political career advanced as Cleveland became a successful lawyer. He lost an election for district attorney in 1865, but in 1870 he was elected Sheriff of Erie County and in 1881 be won an election for Mayor of Buffalo. He held the position for less than a year and in November of 1882 he was elected Governor of New York. Two years later he was elected President of the United States, defeating Republican James G. Blaine and becoming the first Democratic President to be elected to the office since 1856.
Cleveland was not particularly attentive to attending church as a young man, despite his father's profession. Cleveland preferred to frequent the city's saloons, although some of his private correspondence indicates that his religious upbringing remained important to him. In a letter accepting his nomination to run for president in 1884, Cleveland promised to rely "upon the favor and support of the Supreme Being Who, I believe, will always bless honest human endeavor in the conscientious discharge of public duty."
Cleveland's first inaugural address was not riddled with religious themes, though he did promise to take action against the polygamy that was being practiced by the nation's Mormons, which he termed "offensive to the moral sense of the civilized world". He ended the speech with these words:
"And let us not trust to human effort alone, but humbly acknowledging the power and goodness of Almighty God, who presides over the destiny of nations, and who has at all times been revealed in our country's history, let us invoke His aid and His blessings upon our labors."
As President, Cleveland became more visibly religious while in the White House. He began to regularly attend the First Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., and did so throughout his time as president.
Midway through his first term in office, Cleveland married Frances Folsom in June of 1886. She was 21 years old and he was 49 at the time. She was the daughter of his friend Oscar Folson. It was Presbyterian ceremony officiated by the Reverend Byron Sutherland, assisted by the President's brother, Reverend William Cleveland.
Cleveland had the distinction of being defeated in his bid for re-election in 1888, but he became the first (and so far the only) president to serve two non-consecutive terms when he was elected to the office in 1892. He ended his second inaugural address by asking for God's help in carrying out his duties as president. He said:
"Above all, I know there is a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of men and whose goodness and mercy have always followed the American people, and I know He will not turn from us now if we humbly and reverently seek His powerful aid."
Economic problems precluded Cleveland from seeking a third term in office. In retirement he served on the board of trustees of Princeton University. He occasionally weighed in on political issues such as women's suffrage. (He wrote that "sensible and responsible women do not want to vote.") In 1904 his eldest daughter Ruth died at age 12 from diphtheria. The child's death seemed to cause him to question his faith. In his diary, he wrote several entries about his grief over the child's death. On January 10, 1904, three days after Ruth died, he wrote "I had a season of great trouble in keeping out of my mind the idea that Ruth was in the cold, cheerless grave instead of in the arms of her Saviour." The next day, he reiterated this sentiment in his diary, writing: "It seems to me I mourn our darling Ruth's death more and more. So much of the time I can only think of her as dead, not joyfully living in heaven." Five days later, on January 15th, he wrote: "God has come to my help and I am able to adjust my thought to dear Ruth's death with as much comfort as selfish humanity will permit."
Two years later, in a letter dated March 21, 1906 Presbyterian Minister Wilton Merle Smith, he wrote:
"I have quite often, lately, found myself longing for the rest of idleness, and and the peace of inactivity; and I have sometimes even given entrance to the thought that these were my due. But you have written words to me that will help me to constantly appreciate the fact that God who has blessed me above all other men, and directed all my ways, deserves my service, and every good cause deserves my best endeavour, as long as my life and strength shall last. I know as no one else can know my limitations, and how fixed and inexorable they are but I shall trust God, as I have in the past, for strength and opportunity for further usefulness."
Cleveland's health had been declining for several years, and in the autumn of 1907 he became very ill. In 1908, he suffered a heart attack and died on June 24th. His last words were reported to be "I have tried so hard to do right." He is buried in the Princeton Cemetery of the Nassau Presbyterian Church.