Cleveland in 1892
Electoral Brawlage, #24
“Electoral Brawlage” examines the first inaugural address of each president in U.S. history, with some commentary and analysis. Check back on Mondays for more.
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Guess Who’s Back…One Better!
As promised, the non-consecutive executive gets a second go! Cleveland was certainly not the first man to attempt an executive comeback, or even multiple runs at the presidency, he was just the first one to pull it off. How did it happen?
Well, there were a couple of factors. Benjamin Harrison was a fan of tariffs and he put them in place during his term, resulting in an economic condition that a lot of voters didn’t like. This happened as the country was debating “bimetallism,” or the notion of currency backed by gold AND/or silver as a hedge against fluctuation. Finance was on a lot of voters’ minds.
In addition, there was expansion out West, and six new States voted for the first time: Idaho, Montana, Washington, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. Most of these went Republican, while Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, and Kansas all went for James Weaver, a third-party agrarian spoiler.
Although “spoiler” isn’t really an apt term. He got 22 EVs, and even if those states HAD gone for Harrison, Cleveland still got 277. 223 was the magic number, so he took it. Cleveland also took 46% of the popular vote nationwide to 43% for Harrison, and just over 8% for Weaver.
This once again means that if Weaver’s voters had somehow ALL gone for Harrison, he’d have taken 51% of the popular vote, which means he still would have lost because this isn’t high school, lmao.
Policy Differences
Cleveland opposed tariffs, as mentioned, while Harrison favored them to shield American industries. The plan was to use the money to fund veterans’ pensions, among other things. (The youngest Civil War veterans were now in their early 50s.)
The gold standard was also a subject of some import, and Cleveland favored it. (The Federal Reserve wouldn’t exist for another twenty years.) I still don’t completely understand the myriad influences on American money at this time, I was only able to deduce from my readings that Harrison was cool with gold and silver but that somehow this option allowed for greater European influence on American markets. It seems too complex to summarize for me.
Speaking of money and Civil War pensions, Harrison wanted to expand generous pensions while Cleveland said they were excessive and wasteful. Cleveland also wanted civil service reform and a limited government while Harrison wanted efficiency out of federal institutions (and now drawdowns.)
Can you imagine an era where we got to debate these things, and not “Hmmm should we have a closed border or should we amputate your kids’ genitals and rub free-range organic poison in the gender-neutral wound?” What a freaking time, man.
Inaugural Speech, Original vs Redux
Since Cleveland’s vision won out, he came back to the White House and began his final term. In his inauguration speech, he contrasted his new focus with that of his previous term by adopting a much more serious tone, issuing urgent warnings to the public about bad economic laws and the bad philosophy behind them.
“Paternalism” is the word he chose, and I keep thinking about it in the context of other reading I’ve been up to lately. The Founders (namely Jefferson) described “constant vigilance” as the price of freedom. Paternalism, then, would be the idea that government becomes your daddy and you become a good and faithful little child, surrendering your freedom for security. Not a great idea.
The lessons of paternalism ought to be unlearned and the better lesson taught that while the people should patriotically and cheerfully support their Government its functions do not include the support of the people.
He wanted a more sound currency (gold), he wanted to cut federal subsidies (end paternalism), reform the tariffs, and overall reject extravagance for frugality. He’s a doctor describing a disease and a change of one’s daily regiment to cure the underlying problem.
Above all, I know there is a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of men and whose goodness and mercy have always followed the American people, and I know He will not turn from us now if we humbly and reverently seek His powerful aid.
I’m going to have a lot more to say about this particular closing line in the coming weeks. Suffice it to say that Cleveland hit the ground running in his second term, he learned from his soft exile, and he wouldn’t waste any time executing his vision for a stronger nation in the coming years.
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