Hail to the Chiefs Part XXIV: He's BaaAAAAaaack....
In 1889 our old pal Grover, once and future president, decided to leave Washington D.C. altogether and moved to New York City. He and Frances got busy starting their family. Their oldest child Ruth, born in 1891, became famous as "Baby Ruth." Although the candy bar of the same name was actually named after Babe Ruth.
Cleveland got a position at a law firm. For a while, he kept himself occupied with that, and kept his mouth shut about what he thought about the Harrison administration. That lasted all of 2 years. In 1891 Cleveland started speaking out against Harrison's policies. Mysteriously, that was just in time for him to be considered as a presidential candidate again. Democrats were much more enthused about getting Cleveland back in office, than the Republicans were about hanging onto Harrison.
Cleveland barely had time to enjoy being back in office again, when the Panic of 1893 struck, (in other words, a recession.) This got the laborers up in arms, including a strike of the Pullman railroad workers. If you have any doubt just how dramatic things can get when labor is pissed off, check out news footage for my home state of Wisconsin.
Also in 1893 a tumor was discovered on the roof of Cleveland's mouth. It was thought to be cancerous and was surgically removed. In the 1980's the tumor was examined again. (Yes, somebody had KEPT that tumor for all those years. EW!) The type of tumor very rarely became malignant, which explains why Cleveland lived another 15 years. And if you are a lot less squeamish than me, you can go see the tumor for yourself at the Mutter Medical Museum in Philadelphia. That's one presidential exhibit I think I'll skip.
There was a little excitement in Hawaii over the fact that they'd been annexed under Harrison's administration, and Cleveland found out the Hawaiian people did not want to be annexed. The Republic of Hawaii came into existence until the more imperial president McKinley came into power.
In 1896 Cleveland lost the Democratic nomination to Williams Jennings Bryan. Cleveland had supported the gold standard. And Bryan's speech against the gold standard about being "crucified on a cross of gold" had gone over very well. (Just recently on NPR some crackpot was talking about bringing back the gold standard. I found myself thinking "Where's William Jennings Bryan when we need him?")
Grover Cleveland spent his final years in Princeton, New Jersey. He spent quite a bit of time on campus, and even earned the nickname "The Sage of Princeton." Woodrow Wilson was one of the college presidents at the time Cleveland was hanging around. However thanks to politics....a disagreement over where a building should be placed...the two men were not close.
In 1907, during Teddy Roosevelt's administration, Grover Cleveland died of a heart attack. Supposedly his last words were "I tried so hard to do what is right." (I prefer "I have a terrific headache" or "Jefferson lives" for favorite presidential last words myself.)
A second Grover Cleveland administration of course demands a second Grover clip. Enjoy!
Cleveland got a position at a law firm. For a while, he kept himself occupied with that, and kept his mouth shut about what he thought about the Harrison administration. That lasted all of 2 years. In 1891 Cleveland started speaking out against Harrison's policies. Mysteriously, that was just in time for him to be considered as a presidential candidate again. Democrats were much more enthused about getting Cleveland back in office, than the Republicans were about hanging onto Harrison.
Cleveland barely had time to enjoy being back in office again, when the Panic of 1893 struck, (in other words, a recession.) This got the laborers up in arms, including a strike of the Pullman railroad workers. If you have any doubt just how dramatic things can get when labor is pissed off, check out news footage for my home state of Wisconsin.
Also in 1893 a tumor was discovered on the roof of Cleveland's mouth. It was thought to be cancerous and was surgically removed. In the 1980's the tumor was examined again. (Yes, somebody had KEPT that tumor for all those years. EW!) The type of tumor very rarely became malignant, which explains why Cleveland lived another 15 years. And if you are a lot less squeamish than me, you can go see the tumor for yourself at the Mutter Medical Museum in Philadelphia. That's one presidential exhibit I think I'll skip.
There was a little excitement in Hawaii over the fact that they'd been annexed under Harrison's administration, and Cleveland found out the Hawaiian people did not want to be annexed. The Republic of Hawaii came into existence until the more imperial president McKinley came into power.
In 1896 Cleveland lost the Democratic nomination to Williams Jennings Bryan. Cleveland had supported the gold standard. And Bryan's speech against the gold standard about being "crucified on a cross of gold" had gone over very well. (Just recently on NPR some crackpot was talking about bringing back the gold standard. I found myself thinking "Where's William Jennings Bryan when we need him?")
Grover Cleveland spent his final years in Princeton, New Jersey. He spent quite a bit of time on campus, and even earned the nickname "The Sage of Princeton." Woodrow Wilson was one of the college presidents at the time Cleveland was hanging around. However thanks to politics....a disagreement over where a building should be placed...the two men were not close.
In 1907, during Teddy Roosevelt's administration, Grover Cleveland died of a heart attack. Supposedly his last words were "I tried so hard to do what is right." (I prefer "I have a terrific headache" or "Jefferson lives" for favorite presidential last words myself.)
A second Grover Cleveland administration of course demands a second Grover clip. Enjoy!