Grover Cleveland's time in office was marked by his strict sense of honesty and his desire to do what was morally right in his opinion. His strict views about being fair to everyone actually led him to make some decisions that would be questioned today. For example, he would not allow an appropriation for seed to be given to struggling farmers in Texas because he felt that such acts by the federal government made people rely more on the government's help than on their own wits and strength.

Cleveland angered veterans with his vetoes. At that time, many requests for pensions from Civil War veterans were being presented to Congress, and Cleveland vetoed any request that he felt did not have merit or was fraudulent. He also vetoed a bill, which would later become law under Harrison, that allowed veterans who were disabled for reasons other than military service to receive benefits.

As the first Democratic president since the Civil War, Cleveland was petitioned by many Democrats for patronage jobs. The Democratic leaders wanted to place as many Democrats in the government as possible. However, Cleveland would not appoint anyone who he believed was unsuited for a particular job, angering many of the party's leaders.

Presidential Succession Act

Garfield's death in office had revealed a problem with presidential succession in that if the vice president succeeded to the presidency while there was no speaker of the House or president pro tempore of the Senate, then there would be no one to take over the presidency if the new president should die. Therefore, the Presidential Succession Act was passed during Cleveland's administration providing that upon the death or resignation of both the president and vice president, the line of succession would go through the cabinet in chronological order of creation.

Interstate Commerce

An important act that passed in 1887 was the Interstate Commerce Act. This act created the Interstate Commerce Commission, which was the first federal regulatory agency. The ICC was tasked with regulating interstate railroad rates. The act required the railroads to publish their rates so that they would not fluctuate depending on the individuals involved. However, the commission was not given the necessary resources to truly enforce all aspects of the act. In spite of this shortcoming, the creation of the ICC was an important first step in controlling corruption and protecting small businesses.

Native American Rights

In 1887, the Dawes Severalty Act passed, granting citizenship and title to reservation land for Native Americans who were willing to renounce their tribal allegiance, thus replacing tribal holdings with individual land allotments. Land could be sold after twenty-five years. The purpose of the act was to move the Native Americans from a tribal culture to one resembling white America, with individuals living on their own private property. In the end, it was a failure as it resulted in a weakening of tribal ties but did not help Native Americans to become more accepted by the dominant culture.

Defeat for Reelection

Cleveland ran for president again in 1888. He was opposed by Republican Benjamin Harrison. One of the main issues of the campaign was the use of a protective tariff. In fact, protective tariffs had resulted in a decrease in the goods available for sale and higher prices for those goods. Cleveland had argued ineffectively for a new, lower tariff during his time in office, while Republicans argued that protective tariffs were necessary to help American producers and businesses. After a close election, Harrison won with less of the popular vote but the majority of the electoral vote. Cleveland was kept from winning the presidency because he was unable to carry his home state of New York, where the powerful political machine Tammany Hall opposed his election. Cleveland returned to his law practice in New York City after his defeat. He would run again in 1892 and win, becoming the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms.