WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Great Men Back Then: Grover Cleveland

Episode Date: February 28, 2024

Grover Cleveland is the only United States president to serve two terms non-consecutively. Listen to learn more of his policies and personal life. 

You are listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Lawrence Scott, and this is Great Men Back Then, the show where we talk about great people in American history. Today, we will be talking about the only president in the United States who served two terms non-consecutively. I figured this was a very timely topic as former president Donald Trump is running for election in 2024. Now, as we all know, he served as president back in 2016 to 2020. And now he is running again after Biden has been president for the past four years. So Grover Cleveland essentially did what Trump is trying to do.

He was the first Democrat elected after the Civil War. He was elected in 1885 and served until 1889. And then again, he was elected in 1893 and then served until 1897. So he was America's 22nd and 24th president. Cleveland was a bachelor whenever he first became president. But two years later, in June of 1886, he married his wife Francis Folsom. and he was the only president to ever be married in the White House. Cleveland was very anti-big government and anti-government intervention.

He once vetoed a bill that would appropriate $10,000 to distribute a certain type of seed grain amongst farmers who were suffering during the droughts. And he said, quote, federal aid and such a... cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character. He also vetoed many private pension bills to veterans who fought in the Civil War, whose claims had been fraudulent. He also signed the first law attempting federal regulation on the railroads, which was the Interstate Commerce Act. Cleveland was also known as a very simple man.

He strongly disliked the fancy food that was served in the White House. There's evidence for this in letters that he wrote. One letter he wrote, quote, I must go to dinner. And I wish it was to eat a pickled herring, Swiss cheese, and a chop. Instead of the French stuff I shall find. So, yeah, he was definitely not a fan. It was while he was serving his second term as president that Cleveland faced a medical scare.

He discovered a lesion in his mouth and doctors later diagnosed that as cancer. Now, Cleveland, he didn't want to panic the American people or disrupt the peace. And so he decided to keep this a secret. It was later in 1893 that doctors were able to remove. the lesion and then he later had a second operation that was performed later in the summer. And although these operations were successful, it did leave Cleveland to wear an artificial jaw on his left upper side or the rest of his life, which surprisingly affected his appearance and his speech very little. Now, the public never learned about this medical scare that Cleveland experienced.

And the only reason we know about it is because one of the doctors who helped him published an article talking about it in 1917, which was almost 10 years after Cleveland had already died. And so obviously Cleveland cared a lot about the peace and the certain. that he wanted the American people to feel while he was serving as president. It is because of Cleveland's sound policies and selfless leadership as president for both terms that I argue he was great. Thank you for listening to Great Men back then. I'm Lawrence Scott on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM.