Cleveland. Book illustration from Library of Congress

Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. He was the first Democrat elected after the Civil War in 1885. Grover Cleveland was the only President to leave the White House and return for a second term four years later. He is the only President in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office. Cleveland was the leader of the pro-business Democrats who opposed high tariffs, Free Silver, inflation, imperialism, and subsidies to business, farmers, or veterans. His will for political reform and fiscal conservatism made him an icon for American conservatives of the era. Cleveland won praise for his honesty, self-reliance, integrity, and commitment to the principles of classical liberalism. As his second administration began, disaster hit the nation when the Panic of 1893 produced a severe national depression, which Cleveland was unable to reverse. "The United States is not a nation to which peace is a necessity."