Presidents and Their Cabinets: Grover Cleveland's First Cabinet
The Presidential Election of 1884 was a nasty one. Republicans convened in Chicago and nominated former Speaker of the House James G. Blaine of Maine for president on the fourth ballot. Blaine's nomination put off many Republicans who viewed Blaine as dishonest and corrupt. Blaine was also leader of the "Half-Breed" faction of the party, the enemies of the "Stalwarts", the segment who supported the "spoils system" of making appointments to government jobs based on patronage rather than merit. Democrats knew that the were facing a very divided Republican party going into the election and that this was probably their best opportunity to win the White House for the first time since 1856 if only they picked the right candidate.
Former New York Governor Samuel J. Tilden was the initial front-runner for the Democrats. He had been the party's nominee in the contested election of 1876 and many Democrats believed that he should have won the presidency in that year. But he was in poor health and declined. A number of other names were considered, such as Thomas F. Bayard of Delaware, Allen G. Thurman of Ohio, Samuel Freeman Miller of Iowa, and Benjamin Butler of Massachusetts. But these men had political Achilles heals. Bayard had spoken in favor of secession in 1861, making him unacceptable to Northerners, while Butler was hated throughout the South because of his actions as a Union General during the Civil War. Thurman was old and also in poor health. Democrats looked to New York Governor Grover Cleveland, the man they called "Grover the Good" because he had worked to weaken New York's corrupt Democratic Party machine known as Tammany Hall. Cleveland led on the first ballot, with 392 votes out of 820. On the second ballot, Tammany threw its support behind Butler, which in turn caused many of the rest of the delegates to go to Cleveland, who won the nomination.
Corruption in politics was the central issue in 1884. Over the course of his political life, Blaine had been involved in several questionable deals. Cleveland's reputation as an opponent of corruption was a definite asset. He ran on the slogan "A public office is a public trust." Reform-minded Republicans called "Mugwumps" denounced Blaine as corrupt and voted for Cleveland. Leading Mugwumps, including such men as Carl Schurz and Henry Ward Beecher, carried a lot of support and supported Cleveland's policies on civil service reform.
The campaign shone a spotlight on the candidates' moral character. Each side cast aspersions on their opponents. Democrats alleged that Blaine had corruptly influenced legislation in favor of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad and the Union Pacific Railway, and then profited on the sale of bonds he owned in both companies. When Blaine's correspondence about this was discovered, on some of the most damaging correspondence, Blaine had written "Burn this letter", giving Democrats their anti-Blaine chant: "Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine, the continental liar from the state of Maine, 'Burn this letter!"
Cleveland was attacked for allegations that he had fathered a child out of wedlock. Reverend George H. Ball, a minister from Buffalo, publicly alleged that Cleveland had fathered an illegitimate child while he was a lawyer there with a woman named Maria Croft Halpin. Their rallies soon included the chant "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?". Confronted with the scandal, Cleveland is said to have instructed his supporters "Above all, tell the truth." Cleveland admitted to paying child support in 1874 to Halpin, the woman who asserted he had fathered her son Oscar Folsom Cleveland. Shortly before the 1884 election, the Republican newspapers published an affidavit from Halpin in which she stated that until she met Cleveland, her "life was pure and spotless", and "there is not, and never was, a doubt as to the paternity of our child, and the attempt of Grover Cleveland, or his friends, to couple the name of Oscar Folsom, or any one else, with that boy, for that purpose is simply infamous and false."
The electoral votes of closely contested New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Connecticut would determine the election. In New York, the Tammany Democrats held their nose and worked for Cleveland, hoping that they would gain more from supporting a Democrat they disliked than a Republican. Blaine hoped that he would have support from Irish Americans there because his mother was Irish Catholic. The Irish were a significant group in three of the swing states, and it seemed that they would vote for Blaine until a Republican, Samuel D. Burchard, gave a speech calling Democrats the party of "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion." The Democrats spread the word of this, which offended Irish Catholics who had planned to vote for Blaine. After the votes were counted, Cleveland narrowly won all four of the swing states, including New York by 1200 votes. The popular vote total overall was close, with Cleveland winning by just one-quarter of a percent, but in the electoral vote, Cleveland won a majority of 219–182. Following the electoral victory, when Republicans changed "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?", Democrats responded with "Gone to the White House. Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Soon after taking office, Cleveland was faced with the task of filling all the government jobs for which the president had the power of appointment. These jobs were typically filled under the spoils system, but Cleveland announced that he would not fire any Republican who was doing his job well, and would not appoint anyone solely on the basis of party service. He chose to reduce the number of federal employees, claiming that many departments had become bloated with useless political appointees. This would come to hurt him, as his fellow Democrats were angry at being excluded from the spoils
In choosing his cabinet, Cleveland chose Thomas Bayard as his Secretary of State. Despite having once been a Peace Democrat during the Civil War, Bayard worked to promote American trade in the Pacific and resisted the urge to acquire colonies at a time when many Americans were calling for the nation to do that. He sought increased cooperation with Great Britain, working to resolve disputes over fishing and seal-hunting rights in the waters around the Canada–United States border.
Cleveland chose his friend Daniel Manning, a New York journalist and businessman, as Treasury Secretary. Manning only held the job for two years, resigning on March 31, 1887 due to bad health. He was replaced by another New Yorker, Harvard educated lawyer Charles Fairchild. Cleveland picked William Crowninshield Endecott, a Massachusetts Supreme Judge, as Secretary of War. Endicott supervised many important changes in the organization of the United States Army, including the establishment of a system of examinations to determine the promotion of officers.
Cleveland picked Augustus Hill Garland as his Attorney-General. Garland had once been Governor of Arkansas and was a Senator in that state when appointed to this post. He had served in the Confederate Senate during the Civil War. Not long after taking office, he became embroiled in a political scandal. While serving in the Senate, he had became a shareholder in and attorney for the Pan-Electric Telephone Company which was organized to form regional telephone companies. The Bell Telephone Company brought suit against Pan-Electric for patent infringement after it was discovered that their equipment was similar to that of Bell's. Garland refused to bring a suit in the name of the United States to invalidate the Bell patent, breaking their monopoly. While Garland was on vacation in the summer, Solicitor General John Goode authorized the suit. Garland was the subject of a year long congressional investigation and he became the first, and to date only, United States cabinet secretary to be censured by Congress.
As Postmaster-General Cleveland picked William Freeman Vilas, a Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a regent of the University. Vilas served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1885, until he was appointed as Postmaster General. He later served as Secretary of the Interior from 1888 to 1889, also under Cleveland. William Collins Whitney was selected as Secretary of the Navy. He was a Massachusetts born financier who worked to modernize the navy, to build steel steamships and modern naval guns and the domestic manufacture of plate armor.
Cleveland picked another former Confederate, Mississippi Judge Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II as Secretary of the Interior. In 1888, the Senate confirmed Lamar's nomination to the Supreme Court, making Lamar the first Southerner appointed to the court since the Civil War. Lastly he picked Norman Jay Coleman as the first Secretary of Agriculture. Coleman had lobbied for the creation of the Department of Agriculture and was rewarded by being selected to serve as its inaugural Secretary at the end of Cleveland's term, February 15, 1889 to March 6, 1889. But his position was never confirmed by the United States Senate.
Cleveland's attempts to stem the tide of patronage would harm him in his bid for re-election, as Tammany Democrats did not help him in the election of 1888. But after losing the election, as First Lady Frances Cleveland left the White House, she told a 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."
Former New York Governor Samuel J. Tilden was the initial front-runner for the Democrats. He had been the party's nominee in the contested election of 1876 and many Democrats believed that he should have won the presidency in that year. But he was in poor health and declined. A number of other names were considered, such as Thomas F. Bayard of Delaware, Allen G. Thurman of Ohio, Samuel Freeman Miller of Iowa, and Benjamin Butler of Massachusetts. But these men had political Achilles heals. Bayard had spoken in favor of secession in 1861, making him unacceptable to Northerners, while Butler was hated throughout the South because of his actions as a Union General during the Civil War. Thurman was old and also in poor health. Democrats looked to New York Governor Grover Cleveland, the man they called "Grover the Good" because he had worked to weaken New York's corrupt Democratic Party machine known as Tammany Hall. Cleveland led on the first ballot, with 392 votes out of 820. On the second ballot, Tammany threw its support behind Butler, which in turn caused many of the rest of the delegates to go to Cleveland, who won the nomination.
Corruption in politics was the central issue in 1884. Over the course of his political life, Blaine had been involved in several questionable deals. Cleveland's reputation as an opponent of corruption was a definite asset. He ran on the slogan "A public office is a public trust." Reform-minded Republicans called "Mugwumps" denounced Blaine as corrupt and voted for Cleveland. Leading Mugwumps, including such men as Carl Schurz and Henry Ward Beecher, carried a lot of support and supported Cleveland's policies on civil service reform.
The campaign shone a spotlight on the candidates' moral character. Each side cast aspersions on their opponents. Democrats alleged that Blaine had corruptly influenced legislation in favor of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad and the Union Pacific Railway, and then profited on the sale of bonds he owned in both companies. When Blaine's correspondence about this was discovered, on some of the most damaging correspondence, Blaine had written "Burn this letter", giving Democrats their anti-Blaine chant: "Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine, the continental liar from the state of Maine, 'Burn this letter!"
Cleveland was attacked for allegations that he had fathered a child out of wedlock. Reverend George H. Ball, a minister from Buffalo, publicly alleged that Cleveland had fathered an illegitimate child while he was a lawyer there with a woman named Maria Croft Halpin. Their rallies soon included the chant "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?". Confronted with the scandal, Cleveland is said to have instructed his supporters "Above all, tell the truth." Cleveland admitted to paying child support in 1874 to Halpin, the woman who asserted he had fathered her son Oscar Folsom Cleveland. Shortly before the 1884 election, the Republican newspapers published an affidavit from Halpin in which she stated that until she met Cleveland, her "life was pure and spotless", and "there is not, and never was, a doubt as to the paternity of our child, and the attempt of Grover Cleveland, or his friends, to couple the name of Oscar Folsom, or any one else, with that boy, for that purpose is simply infamous and false."
The electoral votes of closely contested New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Connecticut would determine the election. In New York, the Tammany Democrats held their nose and worked for Cleveland, hoping that they would gain more from supporting a Democrat they disliked than a Republican. Blaine hoped that he would have support from Irish Americans there because his mother was Irish Catholic. The Irish were a significant group in three of the swing states, and it seemed that they would vote for Blaine until a Republican, Samuel D. Burchard, gave a speech calling Democrats the party of "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion." The Democrats spread the word of this, which offended Irish Catholics who had planned to vote for Blaine. After the votes were counted, Cleveland narrowly won all four of the swing states, including New York by 1200 votes. The popular vote total overall was close, with Cleveland winning by just one-quarter of a percent, but in the electoral vote, Cleveland won a majority of 219–182. Following the electoral victory, when Republicans changed "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?", Democrats responded with "Gone to the White House. Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Soon after taking office, Cleveland was faced with the task of filling all the government jobs for which the president had the power of appointment. These jobs were typically filled under the spoils system, but Cleveland announced that he would not fire any Republican who was doing his job well, and would not appoint anyone solely on the basis of party service. He chose to reduce the number of federal employees, claiming that many departments had become bloated with useless political appointees. This would come to hurt him, as his fellow Democrats were angry at being excluded from the spoils
In choosing his cabinet, Cleveland chose Thomas Bayard as his Secretary of State. Despite having once been a Peace Democrat during the Civil War, Bayard worked to promote American trade in the Pacific and resisted the urge to acquire colonies at a time when many Americans were calling for the nation to do that. He sought increased cooperation with Great Britain, working to resolve disputes over fishing and seal-hunting rights in the waters around the Canada–United States border.
Cleveland chose his friend Daniel Manning, a New York journalist and businessman, as Treasury Secretary. Manning only held the job for two years, resigning on March 31, 1887 due to bad health. He was replaced by another New Yorker, Harvard educated lawyer Charles Fairchild. Cleveland picked William Crowninshield Endecott, a Massachusetts Supreme Judge, as Secretary of War. Endicott supervised many important changes in the organization of the United States Army, including the establishment of a system of examinations to determine the promotion of officers.
Cleveland picked Augustus Hill Garland as his Attorney-General. Garland had once been Governor of Arkansas and was a Senator in that state when appointed to this post. He had served in the Confederate Senate during the Civil War. Not long after taking office, he became embroiled in a political scandal. While serving in the Senate, he had became a shareholder in and attorney for the Pan-Electric Telephone Company which was organized to form regional telephone companies. The Bell Telephone Company brought suit against Pan-Electric for patent infringement after it was discovered that their equipment was similar to that of Bell's. Garland refused to bring a suit in the name of the United States to invalidate the Bell patent, breaking their monopoly. While Garland was on vacation in the summer, Solicitor General John Goode authorized the suit. Garland was the subject of a year long congressional investigation and he became the first, and to date only, United States cabinet secretary to be censured by Congress.
As Postmaster-General Cleveland picked William Freeman Vilas, a Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a regent of the University. Vilas served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1885, until he was appointed as Postmaster General. He later served as Secretary of the Interior from 1888 to 1889, also under Cleveland. William Collins Whitney was selected as Secretary of the Navy. He was a Massachusetts born financier who worked to modernize the navy, to build steel steamships and modern naval guns and the domestic manufacture of plate armor.
Cleveland picked another former Confederate, Mississippi Judge Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II as Secretary of the Interior. In 1888, the Senate confirmed Lamar's nomination to the Supreme Court, making Lamar the first Southerner appointed to the court since the Civil War. Lastly he picked Norman Jay Coleman as the first Secretary of Agriculture. Coleman had lobbied for the creation of the Department of Agriculture and was rewarded by being selected to serve as its inaugural Secretary at the end of Cleveland's term, February 15, 1889 to March 6, 1889. But his position was never confirmed by the United States Senate.
Cleveland's attempts to stem the tide of patronage would harm him in his bid for re-election, as Tammany Democrats did not help him in the election of 1888. But after losing the election, as First Lady Frances Cleveland left the White House, she told a 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."