An Honest President by H. Paul Jeffers (Review)
A quick glance at my reading history reveals my affinity for presidential history. When I recently encountered a reminder of Grover Cleveland’s unique status as the only president to serve non-consecutive terms, I decided to add our 22nd and 24th president’s biography to my reading list. As Shakespeare noted, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Put another way, President Lyndon Johnson once commented that he “didn’t want to be known as a war president,” but the Vietnam War proved to be a central element of his presidency. Presidents do not necessarily choose the events that shape their presidency. Since Grover Cleveland had no great wars or events that occurred during his presidency, history treats him more as the answer to an interesting trivia question rather than a man to be studied. Yet his is a unique history that warrants exploration, and I in turn enjoyed learning more about Grover Cleveland’s rise from mercantile apprentice and teacher to lawyer, mayor, and president.
Here are some of the observations and lessons I learned from An Honest President by Paul Jeffers:
The prologue of Jeffers’s book highlights one reason why I so admire Teddy Roosevelt. When Grover Cleveland was governor of New York, Cleveland vetoed a popular bill that would have impaired the constitutional power of contracts. Roosevelt, who had voted for the bill, acknowledged he was wrong after the veto message and changed course.
Another of Cleveland’s biographers, Robert McElroy, noted upon looking at Cleveland’s ascension to power: “Americans had long since learned that, as the devil can quote Scripture, so the most dangerous type of demagogue can sing of ideals in false notes not easily distinguishable from true. Cleveland was the antithesis of a demagogue, but McElroy’s observation is an important one for voters to remember.
Cleveland had an excellent quote in a speech on the presidency: “If your President should not be of the people and one of your fellow-citizens, he would be utterly unfit for the position, incapable of understanding the people's wants and careless of their desires. That he is one of the people implies that he is subject to human frailty and error. But he should be permitted to claim but little toleration for mistakes; the generosity of his fellow-citizens should alone decree how far good intentions should excuse his shortcomings.
Watch well, then, this high office, the most precious possession of American citizenship. Demand for it the most complete devotion on the part of him to whose custody it may be entrusted, and protect it not less vigilantly against unworthy assaults from without.
Thus will you perform a sacred duty to yourselves and to those who may follow you in the enjoyment of the freest institutions which Heaven has ever vouchsafed to man.”
It is interesting how many points Cleveland differed on with his party. There was a lack of unity on cutting tariffs, sticking with the gold standard, and other issues. Yet the party nominated him because of his principles and his striving to do the right thing.
James Garfield once noted that many men ruined their careers by loss of character due to “White House Fever.” Despite multiple presidencies, this “illness” never seemed to afflict Grover Cleveland. He was willing to serve out of duty but he did not seem eager to hold the position. More accurately, he seemed more interested in giving up the position. Both Garfield and Cleveland seemed to appreciate that lust for power—particularly the power of the presidency—could easily interfere with the responsibility to serve with character.
As the opening of An Honest President referenced a Teddy Roosevelt quote, so too did the conclusion. After Grover Cleveland died, Roosevelt observed that Cleveland “quailed before no hostility when once he was convinced where his duty lay.” Duty and character seemed to be the reoccurring descriptions from those who knew Cleveland best. Jeffers did an excellent job of drawing on the theme of character without veering into hagiography with his writing. My only critique is that the book’s ending—both Cleveland’s second term and his post-presidency life—seemed very truncated. I would have welcomed more content to hear about how marriage and fatherhood changed or affected Cleveland. Still, Jeffers wrote a crisp book that was enjoyable and informative. There are other biographies that offer a deeper analysis, but An Honest President provides a welcome introduction to President Cleveland.
* A few years after reading this book, I read The Best Presidential Writing, Edited by Craig Fehrman. The portion on Grover Cleveland included the speech he wrote for the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. An excerpt of his words are worth including here:
[Lady Liberty] holds aloft the light which illumines the way to man’s enfranchisement. We will not forget that liberty has here made her home, nor shall her chosen alter be neglected. Willing votaries will constantly keep alive its fires, and these shall gleam upon the shores of our sister republic in the east. Reflected thence and joined with answering rays, a stream of light shall pierce the darkness of ignorance and man’s oppression, until liberty enlightens the world.
