[USA] - 22nd President of the USA Grover Cleveland

[USA] - 22nd President of the USA Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland	Birth: 18 March 1837
	Died: 24 June 1908
	Party: Democrat
	Presidency: 1885 ~ 1889
	Vice President: Frances Folsom
	Nickname: Uncle Jumbo

 

● Haymarket Square riot & The American Federation of Labor(AFL)

After the police shootout on the workers that were on strike in demand of an eight-hour workday at the McCormick Harvester Works, another labor riot took in protest of this incident on 4, May 1886 in Chicago, Haymarket Square.

At the Haymarket Square, a bomb was triggered and seven policemen were sacrificed at the scene. Eight political labor radicals were arrested for this tragedy even though among these eight, only one was present at the Haymarket Square riot. 

 

 

In 1886, Samuel Gompers forms the American Federation of Labor which is also known as the AFL. Samuel Gompers and the American Federation of Labor wasn’t a union of laborers but rather a union of such labor unions.

Samuel Gompers and the AFL believed that in order to fight huge corporations and governments laborer should also mass to become another huge party to attain the voices of laborers.

 

 

● Hands-Off government & the first Democrat president after the Civil War 

Grover Cleveland was the first president from the Democrats to be elected after the Civil War. Grover Cleveland acted as the governor of New York; however, he wasn’t a popular nor famous figure within the Democrats and the politics of the United States of America.

Thus, many people didn’t know much about Grover Cleveland personally nor what his political ideals were.

 

 

Grover Cleveland’s firm political belief was the government shouldn’t support the people in return for their support. That is, the government shouldn’t help citizens so that the citizens would favor the government.

The ‘Hands-Off government’ policy by Grover Cleveland was somewhat extreme in some level as he would even veto the distribution of seeds to farmer when a drought hit Texas very hard in 1887.

Grover Cleveland believed that all people should be suspicious of the government when they hand out anything for free.

 

 

● First president to marry in the White House 

Grover Cleveland was a bachelor during his presidential campaigns which the Republicans took personally to disparage him as irresponsible to never have taken responsibility of even a household.

 

 

On 2nd, June 1886, Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom who was the youngest First Lady ever (she was the age of 21 years old) in the United States of America history. He took five days off for his honeymoon but he even worked on the very day of the wedding at the White House.

 

 

● The Interstate Commerce Act 

The “Hands-Off’ government didn’t necessarily mean that the government wouldn’t try to intervene with the economics rather it was more of being aware of populism. Grover Cleveland didn’t intervene much with legislations in accordance with his beliefs of the hands-off government and would rather agree or disagree(veto) bills and acts.

The Interstate Commerce Act was one of the most important legislations that he has signed. Before the Interstate Commerce Act, railroad companies had total control over the manipulation of charges.

 

 

However the Interstate Commerce act created the Interstate Commerce Commission that would regulate the manipulation and overcharges of prices and allowed the rates to be fair for shippers and passengers. The Interstate Commerce Commission became one of the first regulatory agencies that was created by Congress.

 

 

● Dawes Severality Act and the surrender of Geronimo

During the series of time, native Americans were hunted down and oppressed and many resisting leaders of native Americans such as Crazy Horse were all subjugated by the federal forces.

Concerns over the rights of native Americans have also developed over the time.

 

 

Helen Hunt Jackson exposed the cruelty of the federal government on native Americans by the book ‘A century of Dishonor’. This book brought up a voice to defend the right of native Americans.

However, rather than acceptance and acknowledgement of the native Americans’ own culture, the vast majority of the public only focused on integrating the native Americans to the ‘white’ culture.

 

 

The Dawes Severality Act gave citizenship and some land to native Americans only if they renounce themselves away from their tribes.

A lot of native American culture was lost during these times and as the concept of ‘property’ was misunderstood by native Americans, the land that were provided were often sold at ridiculous prices.

Overall, the Dawes Severality Act may have started from a good  intention but it did more harm to the native Americans.

 

 

Geronimo whose actual name was Goyaałé was the shaman of the Chiricahua Apache that resided in Arizona. Often times he was mistaken as a war chief but he was a shaman of the Chiricahua Apache. However, Geronimo became one of the last resistance fighters against the federal government.

The resistance parties that Geronimo led were actually very small in size, however the press created him as a fearsome threat to the white society.

 

 

Geronimo was praised for his bravery though later on by airborne troops who would cry out Geronimo during combat jumps. He surely became a symbol of bravery and resistance.

On 4th September 1886, Geronimo surrendered to US general Nelson Miles after being caught already twice before. He was promised to be sent back to Arizona but he would never be able to step on his home ground again.

 

 

● John Pemberton invents Coca Cola 

A pharmacist/druggist named John Pemberton made the first ever Coca Cola in 1886. John Pemberton made a drink out of Coca leaves and kola nut extracts which would eventually give the name of the drink he invented ‘Coca Cola’.

John Pemberton would sell the Coca Cola in Atlanta but he would sell the recipe to Asa G. Candler who thought that Coca Cola would become a revolutionary soft drink rather than medication.

 

 

Asa G. Candler would make Coca Cola syrups and make manufacturing sites in various locations in the United States. Asa G. Candler would once again sell the rights of Coca Cola in 1919 which he profited off almost 10,000 times more when he bought it from Pemberton.

John Pemberton sold the Coca Cola to Asa G. Candler at 2,300$ while Asa G. Candler sold the Coca Cola at 25,000,000$. 

 

 

● Attempt to reform Tariff  

The tariffs were set extraordinarily high around the start and end of the Civil War. To raise capital for the Civil War, protection of the industries within the United States were important and imports to foreign countries was one of the most important businesses within the United States.

 

 

However, the high tariffs were now at the brink of hindering domestic industries from growth as they benefited by avoiding competition overseas.

This would damage the domestic consumers and even the work forces and labor unions as they weren’t any means to restrain such domestic businesses.

 

 

Grover Cleveland strongly proposed to lower the tariff rates of the United States even though he knew it would cost him the upcoming presidential elections.

However his attempts were denied  by congress as the congress enjoyed the surplus of funds in the federal funds.