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Grover Cleveland Facts & Worksheets

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Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States (1885-1889 and 1893-1897). He was the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated to the United States from France during his term.  Below are some more facts and information on President Grover Cleveland or alternatively download our comprehensive worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Early Life

  • Stephen Grover Cleveland was born on March 18, 1837, in Caldwell, New Jersey. He was the son of Richard Falley Cleveland and Ann Neal. Young Grover studied at Fayetteville Academy and Clinton Liberal Academy until 1853. He left school to work after the death of his father. He worked as a clerk at a law firm in New York where he eventually studied law.
  • In 1858, he was admitted to the bar and later worked as a lawyer at the same firm. From 1863 to 1870, he became an assistant district attorney for the Erie County.
  • He avoided joining the Union Army in 1863 by illegally paying a substitute of $150.
  • In 1870, Cleveland was elected sheriff of Erie County until 1873. In 1882, he served as Mayor of Buffalo City under the Democratic Party. One of his fights was against graft and corruption.
  • From 1882 to 1884, he was elected as Governor of New York. He became acquainted with Theodore Roosevelt, who was then a member of the New York State Assembly. He became the Democratic Party Presidential candidate during the 1884 elections. His advocacy and programs against corruption led him to win the presidency. After his term, he was again nominated as the Democratic Party’s Presidential candidate during for the 1892 election. Cleveland won with a wide margin of popular and electoral votes.

Grover Cleveland’s Presidency

  • On March 4, 1885, Grover Cleveland took his oath as the 22nd President of the United States at the East Portico, U.S. Capitol. His Vice President, Thomas Hendricks, died eight months after oath.
  • By April 1885, President Cleveland repealed the executive order of former-President Chester A. Arthur regarding the opening of Dakota territory to white settlement. The territory was originally inhabited by Native Indian tribes as part of a treaty. He found the executive order in violation of the treaty.
  • In January 1886, Cleveland signed the Presidential Succession Act, which established the rules on how heads of executive departments would succeed the presidency in the absence of the president and vice president.
  • On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated as a gift from France in commemoration of the alliance between the two countries during the American Revolutionary War.
  • On June 2, 1886, Cleveland became the only U.S. President to marry at the White House. Frances Folsom became America’s First Lady and the mother of Cleveland’s five children.
  • In February 1887, he signed the Dawes Act, which allotted parcels of land to members of Native Indian tribes. Cleveland wished to help Native Indians co-exist with white society and overcome poverty, but neither materialized. In the same month, he vetoed the Texas Seed Bill prohibiting giving relief to individuals who did not work for the benefit of the public.
  • The Tenure of Office Act of 1867 was repealed after he questioned its constitutionality. As part of his program, he toured the western and southern parts of the United States. He also vetoed several bills for the pensions of veterans.
  • In October 1888, Cleveland signed the Scott Act, which prevented the return of Chinese immigrants once they left the United States.
  • It was during Cleveland’s term that the Department of Labor and Department of Agriculture were created. Lastly, he signed the bill that created the territories of North Dakota and South Dakota, Montana, and Washington as states.
  • In 1888, he ran for re-election but lost to Republican Benjamin Harrison through electoral votes.
  • On March 4, 1893, he took his oath of office as the 24th President of the United States at the East Portico, U.S. Capitol. Adlai E. Stevenson became his vice president.
  • The Hawaii Treaty, signed by former-President Benjamin Harrison, was withdrawn by Cleveland within days of taking his oath. He sent a former Congressman to investigate the situation in Hawaii.
  • In 1893, the Sherman Silver Purchase Act worsened America’s economic depression, which caused the Panic of 1893. The New York stock market declined drastically.
  • On July 1, 1893, Cleveland had secret jaw surgery on his friend’s yacht to remove a tumor. A part of his jaw was replaced with a prosthetic.
  • On September 9, 1893, Cleveland’s second child was born in the White House, making her the first to be born at the Executive House.
  • In November 1893, Congress repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which was passed during Harrison’s term. To solve the economic depression, the government attempted to sell treasury bonds four times in order to increase gold reserves. The third and fourth attempts were successful, increasing gold reserves to
    $124 million.
  • In August 1894, after the Morgan Report, Cleveland honored the continuous diplomatic relations with the newly-established Republic of Hawaii. At the same time, the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act was passed into law, even without Cleveland’s signature.
  • Cleveland supported Venezuela during its arbitration with Great Britain over the boundaries of British Guiana and the Latin American country. In addition, the United States announced its neutrality between the dispute of the rebels in Cuba and Spanish rule in 1895.
  • In May 1895, federal troops were sent to Chicago to break up the protest by the American Railway Union against the Pullman Railway Car Company.
  • On January 4, 1896, Utah was admitted as the 45th state of America. During his last days in office, he vetoed a bill banning the admission of illiterate immigrants.

Post-presidency and Death

  • After his term, Cleveland returned to practicing law in New York City. He became an outspoken critic of Harrison at the meeting of New York’s reformers.
  • He became a trustee of Princeton University.
  • In 1902, Cleveland declined the offer of President Theodore Roosevelt to chair the commission mediating the Coal Strike. Two years later, he wrote the book “Presidential Problem” discussing the most controversial decisions he made during his presidency. By 1905, his Ladies Home Journal was published. He described how “sensible and responsible women do not want to vote.”
  • He spent most of his retirement days in his estate, Westland Mansion, in Princeton, New Jersey. On June 24, 1908, Cleveland died of a heart attack. His last words were, “I have tried so hard to do right.” Two days later, he was buried at Princeton Cemetery where his grave was marked with a simple tombstone.

Grover Cleveland Worksheets

This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use Grover Cleveland Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about Grover Cleveland who was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States (1885-1889 and 1893-1897). He was the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated to the United States from France during his term.

Download includes the following worksheets:

  • Grover Cleveland Facts
  • Uncle Jumbo
  • America’s First
  • Mapping New States
  • 1st and 2nd Terms
  • Acts and Facts
  • The Statue of Liberty
  • Cabinet Members
  • Harrison v. Cleveland
  • Political Cartoon
  • Cleveland’s Administration

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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