U.S. President 21-25 – Eagleye Forum and Designs

10/5/1829 – 11/18/1886

Party: Republican

Timeline; 1881-1885

Arthur spent his early career as an attorney and in politics. During the Civil War, he served as Engineer-in-Chief (1861-1863), Inspector General (1862) and Quartermaster General (1862-1863) in the New York Militia. After the war he devoted more time to politics, holding positions such as Collector of the Port of New York (1871-1878), Chairman of the New York State Republican Executive Committee (1879-1881), and Vice President (1881).

1881;

Following Garfield’s death, Arthur becomes the 21st President of the United States at the age of 51.
Trial for Garfield’s assassin, Guiteau begins

1882;

Congress passes bill mandating the use of the census to determine representation. The move increases the number of reps to 325
The Star-Route Scandal trial begins where nine men are to be indicted for defrauding the government in a postal scam
Senate ratifies the Geneva Convention of 1864
Congress passes Edmund’s Act which excludes bigamists and polygamists from voting or holding office.
Chinese Exclusion Act vetoed, then revised
Arthur appoints a tariff commission to recommend tariff reductions
Steamboat Safety Bill vetoed
River and Harbor Act vetoed
Star-Route scandal concludes with 2 of the 9 found guilty. A retrial for December is set when the jury foreman says a government agent tried to bribe him.

1883;

Congress passes the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
Mongrel Tariff Act passes
Arthur signs bill appropriating funds for the Navy’s first steel vessels.
Brooklyn Bridge opens; the construction project took 13 years and $15 million to complete. It is estimated that over 20 men died in this project

Second Star-Route case concludes, all nine men are found not guilty
U.S.-Luxembourg Treaty is concluded

1884;

U.S. participates in an international conference establishing standard time
Congress passes bill repealing the 1862 test oath, which required office holders to swear they never displayed any illegal or disloyal conduct.
Bureau of Labor established
Arthur issues a proclamation warning people not to settle on Oklahoma lands
France presents the United States with the Statue of Liberty at a ceremony in Paris

STATUE OF LIBERTY BEING BUILT IN PARIS

1885;

Washington Monument is dedicated in Washington D.C.

WASHINGTON MONUMENT UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Congress passes act prohibiting the fencing of public lands in the west
Former President Grant is laid to rest in New York City, NY

GRANT’S TOMB

Contract Labor Law passes which is meant to ban companies from importing immigrant workers to break strikes and drive down wages.

Arthur was unknown before being elected, but surprised people by being honest and responsible. He helped create the Civil Service and as a lawyer, he defended a black woman who had been abused on a streetcar. He won the case, which led the streetcar companies to integrate.

Arthur was asked to run for Senate after his Presidency but refused, retiring to his home in New York to work on his law firm but his health started to deteriorate and he died a year later.

Famous quotes;

“I may be president of the United States, but my private life is nobody’s damned business.” “Men may die, but the fabrics of free institutions remains unshaken.” “The extravagant expenditure of public money is an evil not to be measured by the value of that money to the people who are taxed for it.”
#22 Grover Cleveland 1885-1889

3/18/1837 – 6/24/1908

Party: Democratic

Timeline; 1885-1889

Cleveland distinguished himself as one of the few truly honest and principled politicians of the gilded age. His father passed in 1853 forcing him to abandon school to help take care of his mother and sisters. Clerking in a law firm helped him get admitted to the bar in 1859 and follow politics. During the Civil War, he was drafted but opted to hire a substitute so that he could care for his mother. In his time, he held titles of Sheriff of Erie County in New York (1871-1873), mayor of Buffalo (1882), and governor of New York (1883-1885)

1885;

Cleveland becomes the 22nd President of the United States at the age of 47. Thomas Hendricks was his Vice President.
VP Hendricks dies later that year, leaving a vacancy at V.P.

1886;

Cleveland signs the Presidential Succession Act specifying the chain of command should President and Vice President both be absent.
Former President Arthur is laid to rest in Menands, NY

CHESTER ARTHUR’S GRAVE

Cleveland sends message to Congress asserting that labor is a vital element of national prosperity and should be a concern of the federal government. He recommends a committee to resolve disputes between labor and capital
Cleveland vetoes bill granting military pensions to Civil War Union vets who had appealed to Congress after their claims were rejected by the Pensions Bureau. A lot of the claims were found to be bogus.
Cleveland recommends to Congress that the nation accepts France’s gift of the Statue of Liberty. The statue was to be placed on Liberty Island, adjacent to Ellis Island which served as a welcome center for immigrants in New York City.

LIBERTY ISLAND, NEW YORK

ELLIS ISLAND, NEW YORK

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) is formed

1887;

The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) is created to ensure fairness in the management of interstate railroads after complaints of railroad rates and policies
Cleveland signs the Dawes General Allotment Act which shortened or expanded Indian Reservations and weakened some Native American culture while trying to get them to renounce their tribes and become citizens.
Monument to James Garfield is created

JAMES GARFIELD MONUMENT

Cleveland vetoes Dependent Pension Bill arguing that the bill will only encourage fraudulent assertions. The bill would have given military pension to anyone serving a minimum of 90 days in any war.
Cleveland vetoes Texas Seed Bill, believing it overstepped the powers of government. The bill was designed to provide relief to drought-stricken farmers
Tenure of Office Act is repealed
Cleveland sends message to Congress against protective tariffs creating an excessive surplus. Some that were adopted as a temporary measures during the Civil War were still in place.

1888;

Civil Service Commission announces amended rules, prompting Cleveland to respond with detailed objections, being a proponent of civil service reform
Department of Labor is established
Washington Monument opens

WASHINGTON MONUMENT

Cleveland renews and signs the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibiting Chinese immigrants who return to China, from coming back to U.S.

1889;

Cleveland signs bill creating the Department of Agriculture
Cleveland signs bill that turns the territories of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington into states

Cleveland lost his re-election bid. Even though he won a lot more popular votes than Harrison, his stance on opposing the high tariff cost him electoral votes which swayed the decision. His wife told the White House staff before leaving that she and Grover would be seeing them in 4 years.

Famous quotes;

“Though the people support the government; the government should not support the people.”

“I have tried so hard to do right.”

“A government for the people must depend for its success on the intelligence, the morality, the justice, and the interest of the people themselves.”
#23 Benjamin Harrison 1889-1893

8/20/1833 – 3/13/1901

Party: Republican

Timeline; 1889-1893

Harrison was the grandson of the 9th President, William Henry Harrison and he was known as a man of moral courage. Early on he studied law and followed his political ambitions. When the Civil war broke out he joined the Union Army as an officer, serving from 1862-1865, eventually reaching the rank of brevet brigadier general. After the war he resumed his law practice and political ambitions, failing to win the Governship of Indiana in 1876 but winning a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1881 and holding it until 1887.

BENJAMIN HARRISON, 1865

1889;

Harrison becomes the 23rd President at the age of 55, Levi P. Morton was his Vice President
Berlin Conference on Samoan Affairs begins, trying to establish Independence of Samoa and protection rights.
Harrison tours New England and works on Navy expansion
Pan-American Conference begins, trying to improve relations with Latin America countries in economic and political relations.
North and South Dakota join the Union as the 39th and 40th states
Montana becomes the 41st state
Washington becomes the 42nd state
Harrison sends first message to Congress recommending civil rights and civil service reform, naval legislation, improved conditions for railroad workers and pensions for veterans.

1890;

Dependent Pension Bill is passed
Sherman Anti-Trust Act is enacted
Idaho becomes the 43rd state
Wyoming becomes the 44th state
Harrison signs into law the Sherman Silver Purchase Act
Congress passes Anti-lottery Bill
Congress passes the McKinley Tariff

1891;

Harrison signs measure creating nine Circuit Courts of Appeals to relieve the demands of the Supreme Court

New Orleans mob lynches 11 Italian immigrants that were part of a group that allegedly murdered police chief David C. Hennessey as well as bribing and threatening jurors during trial. The lynching prompts Italy to sever diplomatic ties and threaten war with the U.S.

U,S. seizes a Chilean rebel ship; Itata, at the Balmaceda government of Chile’s request, as it is delivering arms to Chilean rebels. Rebels win the Chilean civil war leading to tense relations between the U.S. and Chile from the Itata Incident

CHILEAN REBEL SHIP; ITATA

Tensions with Chile rise after American sailors and Chilean Nationals brawl in Valparaiso, Chile, resulting in deaths of two Americans and many arrests.
Harrison sends message to Congress denouncing the Valparaiso attack, known as the Baltimore Incident, as savage, brutal and unprovoked and nominates Stephen B. Elkins the new Secretary of War

1892;

Harrison states all members of his cabinet are in favor of war with Chile and U.S. sends an ultimatum to Chile regarding this.
Harrison sends message to Congress asking that lawmakers take appropriate action regarding Chile.
Chile backs down in the conflict and pays as indemnity of $75K
Steelworkers in Homestead, Pennsylvania are locked out over contract disputes and start fighting with men from the Pinkerton Detective Agency that were brought in to bust the strike up. 7 Pinkertons and 9 workers died. A week later 8,000 militiamen accompany and protect Pinkerton men.

Harrison sends federal troops in to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to restore order and stop silver miners on a violent strike that had already resulted in 30 deaths.
Harrison privately supports mediation in the Homestead strike, sending Whitelaw Reid to Homestead as an emissary to Henry Clay Frick who is left in charge by Carnegie. It did no good though and the strike went on for months, breaking the union and dealing a major blow to organized labor.

HOMESTEAD STRIKE

The Kingdom of Hawaii is overthrown and Queen Liliuokalani is removed from office with a provisional government established under Sanford B. Dole. Harrison deploys 150 marines to Hawaii to protect the new government.

After losing re-election to Cleveland, Harrison retired to his law practice in Indiana, emerging briefly to serve as leading counsel for Venezuela in the arbitration of the boundary dispute with great Britain (1898-1899) as well as serve as a public speaker for institutes such as Stanford University, where his lectures became published on 1901 as Views of an Ex-President. He died that very year from pneumonia. He was the last Civil War general to serve as President.

Harrison was caught between reformers who were fighting the spoils system and those who wanted to continue it, and was defeated after one term.

Harrison’s grandfather was President William Henry Harrison.

Famous quotes;

“I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth will starve in the process.” “We Americans have no commission from God to police the world.” “The bud of victory is always in the truth.”
#24 Grover Cleveland 1893-1897

3/18/1837 – 6/24/1908

Party: Democratic

Timeline; 1893-1897

Cleveland spent the four years of the Harrison presidency in New York City, working for a prominent law firm. After the Harrison administration and his Republican party enacted the very high McKinley Tariff in 1890 and made the surplus in the treasury vanish in a spending spree, the path to a Democratic victory in 1892 seemed clear.

1893;

Cleveland becomes the 25th President of the United States at the age of 55 and becomes the only President ever to serve two non-consecutive terms. Adlai Stevenson was his Vice president.
Former President Hayes is laid to rest in Fremont, OH

RUTHERFORD HAYES’S TOMB

Cleveland withdraws the Hawaiian annexation treaty and advocates the restoration of the queen but the provisional government rejects the idea.
Gold value drops, Cleveland vows to defend the gold standard
Panic of 1893 starts after the National Cordage Company and the Philadelphia and Reading railroads go bankrupt, causing the New York stock market to take a sharp decline, dubbed the “Industrial Black Friday”

A growth is detected on the roof of Cleveland’s mouth prompting a secret operation to remove the cancerous growth and a portion of his jaw
Cleveland calls for a special session with Congress to address the economic crisis through tariff reform and the repeal of silver purchase law.
Congress begins debate on the silver issue and tariffs
Congress repeals the Sherman Silver Purchase Act

1894;

The House passes a tariff revisions bill
The Army of the Commonwealth of Christ march to Washington to demand that the government take action to alleviate economic depression by providing the unemployed with worthwhile jobs. The event proves anti-climatic as the leader, Coxey and a few others were arrested for trespassing.
Pullman railway car company employees go on strike due to the owner; George Pullman lowering wages in light of the 1893 depression, as well as requiring them to work longer days since he did not lower rates of living in his company town of Pullman, Illinois. Cleveland sent federal troops to stop the strike

PULLMAN STRIKE

The Wilson-Gorman Tariff Bill becomes law without Cleveland’s signature since he refused to veto or sign it since the law included an income tax of 2% on all personal income greater than $4K as well as all corporate income above operating expenses
The U.S. intervenes in a boundary dispute between Venezuela and Britain, invoking the Monroe Doctrine to assert its rights. Britain agrees to arbitration rather than going to war with the United States

1895;

Treasury bond sale to a syndicate headed by J.P. Morgan restores gold reserves and validates the credit of the government
Revolution begins in Cuba over Spanish rule. Although American sympathy lies with the rebels, the U.S. adopts a policy of neutrality.
Supreme Court nullifies the income tax in Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co. as well as justifies the arrest of the leader of the Pullman Strike, Eugene Debs

1896;

Utah becomes the 45th state
Treasury bond sale of $100 million is announced, restoring gold reserves to a safe level of $124 million. Bond sales from 1894 to 1896 create $262 million in federal debt

1897;

United States and Britain sign a treaty of arbitration ending the Venezuelan dispute
Cleveland vetoes bill that would ban illiterate immigrants

Early in Cleveland’s second term, the United States sank into the most severe economic recession the country had yet experienced. Cleveland believed that the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 had eroded confidence in the stability of the currency and was at the root of the nation’s economic troubles. He forced the repeal of the act but the depression only worsened, and Cleveland’s negative view of government began to diminish his popularity. Apart from assuring gold-backed currency, he insisted the government could do nothing to alleviate the suffering of the many thousands of people who had lost jobs, homes, and farms. His popularity sank even lower when the treasury gold quantity diminished leading him to negotiate with John Pierpont Morgan to sell government bonds abroad for more gold. The deal succeeded in replenishing the government’s gold supply, but the alliance between the president and one of the era’s leading “robber barons” intensified the feeling that Cleveland had lost touch with ordinary Americans. He also lost a lot of fans from the labor field when he sided with the interests of big business over ordinary Americans in the Pullman Strike.

Cleveland retired to Princeton, New Jersey, where he became active in the affairs of Princeton University as a lecturer in public affairs and as a trustee from 1901–1908, when he died.

Famous quotes;

“Communism is a hateful thing, and a menace to peace and organized government.”“The United States is not a nation to which peace is a necessity.”“The ship of democracy, which has weathered all storms, may sink through the mutiny of those on board.”
#25 William McKinley 1897-1901

1/29/1843 – 9/14/1901

Party: Republican

Timeline; 1897-1901

McKinley was the last President to serve in the Civil War (1861-1865), enlisting as a private and finishing as a brevet major. After the war he practiced law and studied politics. He eventually won a seat in Congress as a representative for Ohio (1876-1891) and then became governor (1892-1896)

MAJOR MCKINLEY

1897;

McKinley becomes the twenty-fifth President of the United States at the age of 54. Garret Hobart was his Vice President.
McKinley becomes first President to ride in an automobile

President McKinley calls Congress into a special session for the purpose of revising the tariff laws.
John J. McDermott wins the first Boston Marathon. The 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Copley Square will become one of the world’s most prestigious marathons.

FIRST BOSTON MARATHON WINNER; JOHN J. MCDERMOTT

Congress appropriates $50,000 for the relief of Americans in Cuba.
The first shipment of gold discovered in Alaska, totaling $750,000, arrives in San Francisco.
President McKinley signs the Dingley Tariff Law, which raises custom duties by an average of 57 percent.
More than twenty workers are killed in Lattimer, Pennsylvania, after deputy sheriffs open fire on striking coal miners. In sympathy and remembrance of the Lattimer Massacre, coal miners in the Ohio, West Virginia, and the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania walk off their jobs

McKinley sends his first annual message to Congress indicating that while the government of Spain should be given time to reform its behavior in Cuba, America would continue to devote significant diplomatic attention to the island.

1898;

Pro-Spanish groups riot in Havana, Cuba, in opposition to Cuban autonomy
The U.S. Battleship Maine arrives in Havana on a “friendly visit” but Its true mission is to protect American life and property.

USS MAINE

The De Lome letter written by the Spanish minister to the United States, containing insults directed at President McKinley, is published in William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal.
The battleship Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor, killing 266 Americans. Subsequent press coverage of the event points to Spanish sabotage as the cause of the disaster. “Remember the Maine!” becomes a rally cry for Americans ready to go to war with Spain.

At McKinley’s command, Congress votes a $50 million appropriation for national defense.
The U.S. Navy reports that the Maine explosion was the result of external factors while the Spanish Navy releases its own report on the Maine disaster, concluding that an internal explosion destroyed the battleship.
McKinley asks Congress for authority to “use armed force” in Cuba to end the civil war. Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Sagasta makes a last-minute peace concession by offering the Cubans limited autonomy.
Congress adopts a joint resolution authorizing President McKinley to intervene in Cuba. The resolution also states that the United States has no plans to annex Cuba. Spain counters by severing diplomatic relations with the United States.
McKinley orders a blockade of northern Cuban ports.
Congress passes the Volunteer Army Act, which authorizes the organization of the First Volunteer Cavalry, or Rough Riders as the U.S. captures its first spoils of war, the Spanish ship Buena Ventura.

McKinley calls for 125,000 volunteers to fight the war with Spain.
Spain and the United States declare war on each other

Commodore George Dewey, commanding an American squadron of six ships, soundly defeats a larger but outgunned Spanish fleet at Manila Bay.

McKinley issues a new call for volunteers, asking for an additional 75,000. A U.S. troop expedition of 2,500 men also sets sail for Manila, Philippines.
Congress passes the Erdman Arbitration Act, but the Supreme Court rules it unconstitutional.
Congress passes the War Revenue Act, which generated about $150 million of tax revenue a year from taxes levied on beer, tobacco, amusements, and some business transactions.
A Spanish commander of Guam surrenders to advancing western Pacific fleets. Oblivious to the outbreak of war, the Spanish apologized thinking they were under attack for not saluting back.
The United States defeats Spanish troops at the Battle of Las Guasimas, the first major land battle of the Spanish-American War.

BATTLE OF LAS GUAISMAS

After heavy fighting, American forces in Cuba take the Spanish garrisons at El Caney and San Juan Hill.

BATTLE OF EL CANEY

BATTLE OF SAN JUAN HILL

American naval forces destroy the Spanish fleet off Santiago de Cuba.

McKinley signs a joint congressional resolution providing for the annexation of Hawaii.
Santiago de Cuba surrenders, along with 24,000 Spanish troops, to American General William Shafter.
American forces invade Puerto Rico, encountering little resistance.
Spain and the United States sign an armistice in which Spain agrees to grant Cuba its independence and cede Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States. The fate of the Philippines is left to be determined at a postwar conference.
Spanish forces in the Philippines surrender to the United States.
A strikers’ riot in Virden, Illinois, leads to thirteen deaths and twenty-five injuries.

American peace commissioners in Paris receive instructions to demand from Spain the cession of the Philippine Islands.
McKinley’s sends his second annual message to both Houses of Congress. He declares his intention to build an inter-oceanic canal through Nicaragua and discusses the merits of fighting the Spanish-American war
The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Paris.

1899;

The United States takes official control of Cuba.
Philippine guerrillas attack U.S. forces in Manila, beginning the Philippine Insurrection.
The Senate ratifies the peace treaty between the United States and Spain, The United States acquires Puerto Rico and Guam, and assumes the temporary administration of Cuba. While Spain receives $20 million for certain Filipino holdings, some looked at it as an outright purchase of the Philippines.
Congress authorizes voting machines for federal elections, subject to the request of individual states.
McKinley sends his third annual message to Congress, focusing primarily on foreign affairs and beefing up the U.S. Navy to benefit overseas commerce

1900;

Britain and the United States sign the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty to provide for an isthmian canal in Central America.
McKinley signs the Gold Standard Act, which fixes the standard of value for all money issued or coined by the United States.
Congress passes an act establishing the Territory of Hawaii.
The Senate ratifies a modified version of the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, in which the British government agrees to an American canal with the conditions that it be neutral and unfortified. This treaty abrogates the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850.

1901;

The first great oil strike in Texas occurs near Beaumont.

OIL STRIKE

Congress adopts the Platt Amendment, as part of the Army Appropriation Act of 1901
Former President Benjamin Harrison is laid to rest in Indianapolis, IN

BENJAMIN HARRISON’S TOMB

McKinley is re-elected President of the United States, with Spanish-American War Hero and New York governor Theodore Roosevelt as his new vice president.
The British government informs the United States that it will not accept the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty as amended by the Senate.
Filipino resistance leader Emilio Aguinaldo is captured by Frederick Funston, crippling the Philippine insurrection.
The rebellion in the Philippines ends by proclamation. Sporadic fighting still continues until American military forces fully secure the island.
Leon Czolgosz shoots McKinley in the stomach while the President shakes hands at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.

MCKINLEY ASSASSINATION

Mckinley dies from his wounds a week later due to gangrene and is laid to rest in Canton, OH.

MCKINLEY’S TOMB

Czolgosz, who admitted to the shooting of McKinley and expressed no remorse for his actions, was sent to the electric chair a month later. Rumor has it that McKinley was assassinated moments after handing a girl his lucky red carnation.

Famous quotes;

“In the time of darkest defeat, victory may be nearest.”

“That’s all a man can hope for during his lifetime – to set an example – and when he is dead, to be an inspiration for history.”

“War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed.“