By: Alex Henderson
Grover Cleveland
(1837-1908)
Important dates in Cleveland's life
1837
(March 18) Born in Caldwell,
New Jersey.
1881
Elected mayor of Buffalo, New
York.
1882
Elected governor of New York.
1884
Elected president of the United
States.
1886
(June 2) Married Frances Folsom.
1888
Defeated for reelection by
Benjamin Harrison.
1892
Elected to second term as
president.
1908
(June 24) Died in Princeton, New
Jersey.
HARRISON
CLEVELAND
VS.
THE ELECTION OF 1888
The economy was prosperous and the nation was at peace, but Cleveland lost reelection in the Electoral College, even though he won a majority of the popular
vote by a narrow margin.
Tariff policy was the principal issue in the
election. Harrison took the side of
industrialists and factory workers who
wanted to keep tariffs high, while Cleveland
persistently accused high tariffs as unfair to
consumers.
Harrison swept almost the entire North and
Midwest, losing only Connecticut and New
Jersey, but carried the swing states of New
York and Indiana to achieve a majority of
the electoral vote.
Clevelands opposition to Civil War pensions and inflated
currency also made enemies among veterans and farmers.
On the other hand, he held a strong hand in the South and
border states, and appealed to former Republican
Mugwumps.
His administration is
most remembered for
economic legislation,
including the McKinley
Tariff and the Sherman
Antitrust Act.
Harrison supported,
although
unsuccessfully,
federal education
funding and
legislation to protect
voting rights for
African Americans
He is also known for annual federal
spending that reached one billion
dollars for the first time. Democrats
attacked the "Billion Dollar Congress",
and used the issue, along with the
growing unpopularity of the high tariff,
to defeat the Republicans, both in the
1890 mid-term elections and in
Harrison's bid for re-election in 1892.
Benjamin
Harrison
He also saw the
admittance of
six states into
the Union.
McKinley Tariff
The tariff raised the average duty on imports
to almost fifty percent, an act designed to
protect domestic industries from foreign
competition.
Was also known as the Tariff Act of 1890
Was an act of the United States Congress
outlined by Representative William McKinley
that became law on October 1, 1890
Protectionism, a tactic supported by
Republicans, was fiercely debated by
politicians and condemned by Democrats. The
McKinley Tariff was replaced with the WilsonGorman Tariff in 1894, which promptly
lowered tariff rates.
“Billion Dollar Congress”
It is also known as the Fiftyfirst United States Congress
It lasted from March 4, 1889 to March 4, 1891
It was responsible for a number of pieces of landmark
legislation, many of which asserted the authority of the federal
government.
Inspired by their success in the elections of 1888, the Republicans
enacted practically their entire platform during their first 303-day
session. It included a measure that provided American Civil War veterans
with generous pensions and expanded the list of eligible recipients to
include citizens and the children of veterans. Grover Cleveland had
vetoed a similar bill in 1887. It was criticized as the "Billion Dollar
Congress'" for its excessive spending and, for this reason it provoked
drastic reversals in public support that led to Cleveland's re-election in
1892.
Other important legislations passed into law by the Congress
included the McKinley tariff, authored by Representative, and
future President, William McKinley, the Sherman Antitrust Act,
which prohibited business combinations that restricted trade,
and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which required the U.S.
government to mint silver.
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
It prohibits certain business activities that reduce competition
in the marketplace, and requires the United States federal
government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies, and
organizations suspected of being in violation
The purpose
of the Act
was, to quote
Sherman:
"To protect the consumers by
preventing arrangements designed,
or which tend, to advance the cost
of goods to the consumer".
Senator John
Sherman, a
Republican from
Ohio, and the
principal author of
the Sherman
Antitrust Act.
Failure of Hawaiian Annexation
In 1898
President of the
United States
William
McKinley signed
the treaty of
annexation for
Hawaii, but it
failed in the
Senate after the
38,000
signatures of
the Ku’e
Petitions were
submitted
After the
failure, Hawaii
was annexed by
means of joint
resolution,
called the
Newlands
Resolution
It was approved
on July 4, 1898
and signed on
July 7 by
William
McKinley
In August of
the same year,
a ceremony
was held on
the steps of
Iolani Palace to
signify the
official transfer
of Hawaiian
sovereignty to
the United
States.
States admitted into the Union by
President Benjamin Harrison
Montana on
November 8th
1889 and
Washington on
November 11th
1889
North Dakota and
South Dakota on
November 2nd,
1889
The initial
Congressional
delegations from all
six states were solidly
Republican
The following year two
more states held
constitutional
conventions and were
admitted: Idaho on
July 3rd, 1890 and
Wyoming on July 10th,
1890
More states were
admitted under Harrison's
presidency than any other
since George
Washington's.
POP QUIZ!!!
#1) Who was the only president who
served two terms that did not directly
follow each other?
A) Theodore Roosevelt
B) George Washington
C) Grover Cleveland
D) Benjamin Harrison
C) Grover Cleveland
#2) Who did Benjamin Harrison take the
side of, when it came to “Tariff policy”?
A) industrialists and factory workers who
wanted to keep tariffs high
B) people who persistently
accused high tariffs as
unfair to consumers
C) he had no position
D) all the above
Harrison took the side of
A) industrialists and factory workers
who wanted to keep tariffs high
#3) Which of the following did not
come about during the “Billion
Dollar Congress”?
A) McKinley Tariff
B) Sherman Anti-Trust Act
C) Sherman Silver Purchase Act
D) Land Revision Act of 1891
E) None
E) None, they all came about during
the “Billion Dollar Congress”!!!
#4) Which is the correct order of
States being admitted into the Union
by Benjamin Harrison?
A) Wyoming, Idaho, Washington,
Montana, and North and South Dakota
B) North and South Dakota, Montana,
Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming
C) Montana, Washington, North and
South Dakota, Wyoming, and Idaho
D) Washington, Idaho, Montana, North
and South Dakota, and Wyoming
B) North and South Dakota, Montana,
Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming
THE END!
All I gotta say is, best in the class once again…
And I was by myself! THANK YOU!
Don’t hate, appreciate!