Stephen Grover Cleveland was born on March 18, 1837 and was named after Reverend Stephen Grover, the first minister of First Presbyterian Church in Caldwell, New Jersey.
He is described to possess a massive and hulking figure and considered the heaviest president of their time weighing two-hundred and fifty pounds. Grove Cleveland stood five feet and eleven inches with a double chin and ham-like fists. His hair is brown and quite thin for a middle aged man. His complexion is fair and has blue eyes. His bushy mustache is one of his distinct characteristic.
Grover Cleveland attempts to represent what is tradition and order. His father greatly influenced him to understand what is right from wrong, and what is socially acceptable. He embraced the value of honesty, dignity, and dedication. His colleagues valued his clear advice and guidance.
Grover Cleveland took the role of being a community organizer and work hard to defend values which holds families and communities together. He is a strong believer of the rule of law and that authority must be earned; that is why he eagerly worked to reform government appointments and abolish jobs which were filled under the spoils system. He exhibited dedication, and purposeful honesty to utterly reject corruption and cheating.
He is aware of his surroundings and looks at the world of clear and verifiable facts; despite heavy resistance against his vision and leadership. Grover Cleveland stick with his principles and rejects the unacceptable. For him, other people’s opinion is just empty talk because he is willing to dive into the most challenging changes and improve the nation. The following traits are the strengths of Grover Cleveland.
Dedicated and Strong Willed
Grover Cleveland is a man who never gives up. He believes that he has an ethical obligation to do not simply abandon any tasks at hand. He took the nation’s mess and strived to change it in what he believes is the right thing to do. Soon, he made sure that it is finished.
His strong will empowers his dedication by not giving up on his beliefs and defended his ideas and principles relentlessly. He also respects being corrected once it was proven clearly.
Direct, Patient, and Reliable
Grover Cleveland was a leader who trusts facts rather than abstract ideas or opinions. He was straightforward to his statements and exemplifies truthfulness and reliability while considering security and stability as his top priority in his decisions. During his presidential campaign, he kept his word of serving the public unbiased and encouraged the families, communities, and the nation to become responsible members of the society.
Excellent Organizer
Grover Cleveland strived to create order and security to the United States of America by establishing rules, clear roles, and structures to his administration. His commitment to truth and clear standards paved way for him to become capable and become a confident leader. He designated tasks and responsibilities to others fairly and objectively.
On the other hand, Grover Cleveland is far from being flawless. The following are his weaknesses.
Stubborn and Inflexible
One of the problems which is evident in Grover Cleveland’s leadership was him being fixated on his beliefs and principles, he would often dismiss the suggestion of what might work better. He is reluctant to accept these opinions unless it was proven enough for him to take a chance and try it out.
Subsequent to it, he is strongly uncomfortable with unconventional situations since Grover Cleveland strongly adherent traditions. He finds it hard to try solutions which are not thoroughly examined. He does not want to risk his reputation of being reliable.
Judgmental and Focused on Social Status
Since Grover Cleveland possesses a strong conviction about what is right, wrong, and socially acceptable, he keeps this compulsion of creating order and ignoring the possibility of other suggestions. He does not allow any deviants to interfere knowing that it is his duty to set things right, on his own way.
Consequently, Grover Cleveland’s judgmental nature puts him in an invisible pedestal where he takes pride of his family, friends, and colleagues; however, found it hard to admit that he is highly concerned of others’ opinion about him. In his second term in the White House, he became inconsistent with his social judgement because he was caught up in meeting the expectation of other’s from him that is why, as he stepped down the presidency on his second term, he failed to address his advocacy against discrimination which made him unpopular to his own party, as well as will the organized labor.
Hard to express emotions
One of Grover Cleveland’s greatest weakness was expressing his emotion and showing empathy. Since he was caught up in facts, he failed to consider being sensitive to the needs and wants of people around him. His rational and practical approach often became a liability than an asset for him.
Conclusion
Grover Cleveland is a practical and strong-willed leader. He was known for his reliability and administrative skills. He is also good in maintaining and managing a secure and stable administration that is why he was undoubtedly served as president for two non-consecutive terms. His dedication is invaluable; however, his weaknesses made him lose the battle to pursuit equal justice in the United States of America.
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