Vice President Adlai Stevenson: Bio & Quotes
Description: This lesson will cover one of the many Vice Presidents of the 20th century. We will discuss the life of Vice President Adlai Stevenson through some of more famous quotes.
!!!Adlai Stevenson
Adlai Ewing Stevenson was born on October 23, 1835 on his family’s farm in Christian County, Kentucky to Irish immigrant parents. He attended school there until age 16 when the family moved to Bloomington, Illinois after a hard frost killed the family’s tobacco crop. There his father ran a saw mill, where Adlai would work to save money for college.
Stevenson returned to Kentucky to attend Centre College where he met his future wife Letitia Green. Adlai studied law, passed the bar in 1858, and then in 1866 married Letitia. The two would have three children, among them a son named James who would have Adlai Stevenson II (future Democratic presidential candidate). The young couple settled in Illinois where Stevenson entered politics as a Democrat. He first made a name for himself making speeches against the __Know Nothing__ party that was nativist and anti-immigrant. Stevenson also had a pleasing and friendly demeanor, and his speeches were filled with storytelling that made his positions on the issues both clear and personal. In 1860 he was appointed master in chancery (assistant position in the court of equity), and held this position through the Civil War. In 1864 he was elected district attorney, and in 1868 started a law practice with his cousin called __Stevenson & Ewing__. !!!Congressman Due to the South and Democrats succeeding from the Union during the Civil War, Democrats were unpopular during Reconstruction. In 1874, the first Democratic majority to the hold the Congress since the war was elected, and Stevenson was among those Democrats elected to the House. However, in 1876 when Republican Rutherford Hayes became president, Stevenson lost re-election to the House. Undaunted, Stevenson ran again in 1878 as a Democrat and as a Greenback and regained his seat. Changes in the political climate in both Illinois and the nation would see him lose his final re-election bid for Congress in 1880, and back to Illinois and his law practice. !!!Post Master In 1884, Stevenson served as delegate to the Democratic convention, and voted to make __Grover Cleveland__ party nominee for president. …show more content…
Then he was appointed __First Assistant Post Master__, a low paying but coveted position around the country. The Post Master was a fixture in communities due to being in charge of mail, newspaper, and magazine deliveries. Another role of the Post Master was delivering political party pamphlets, and Stevenson used this role to gain votes for Democrats distributing their materials to voters. Stevenson was well suited to the duties of this position due to his personable character and nature, and earned the nickname ‘Headsman’ for helping to elect 40,000 Democrats who unseated Republicans across the country.
To reward Stevenson, President Cleveland tried to have him appointed to the Supreme Court of D.C., but was blocked by vengeful Republicans. Cleveland would lose his re-election campaign, only to return to the White House four years later. In 1892, when Cleveland regained the Democratic nomination for president, he made Stevenson his running mate.
Politics during the __Gilded Age__ were a mix of many economic and social issues like civil service reform, and the debate surrounding the __gold standard__ or __bimetallism__ to value currency. Stevenson was pro bimetallism which would use both gold and silver to value money in turn placing more money into circulation. Cleveland was pro gold standard which restricted the amount of money in circulation. Together, they balanced the ticket and attracted enough voters to win the Election of 1892.
!!!Vice President Stevenson presided over the Senate irrespective of party and with attention to the ever important rules that governed the body. He was known for having a wonderful sense of humor privately, but while in session over the Senate was without humor and professional. The conflicts between gold standard proponents and their bimetallism counterparts spilled over into the Cleveland administration, and prevented Stevenson from being much of an advisor to the president during their four years together. The __Populist Movement__ began with an earnest attempt to give farmers
Description: This lesson will cover one of the many Vice Presidents of the 20th century. We will discuss the life of Vice President Adlai Stevenson through some of more famous quotes.
!!!Adlai Stevenson
Adlai Ewing Stevenson was born on October 23, 1835 on his family’s farm in Christian County, Kentucky to Irish immigrant parents. He attended school there until age 16 when the family moved to Bloomington, Illinois after a hard frost killed the family’s tobacco crop. There his father ran a saw mill, where Adlai would work to save money for college.
Stevenson returned to Kentucky to attend Centre College where he met his future wife Letitia Green. Adlai studied law, passed the bar in 1858, and then in 1866 married Letitia. The two would have three children, among them a son named James who would have Adlai Stevenson II (future Democratic presidential candidate). The young couple settled in Illinois where Stevenson entered politics as a Democrat. He first made a name for himself making speeches against the __Know Nothing__ party that was nativist and anti-immigrant. Stevenson also had a pleasing and friendly demeanor, and his speeches were filled with storytelling that made his positions on the issues both clear and personal. In 1860 he was appointed master in chancery (assistant position in the court of equity), and held this position through the Civil War. In 1864 he was elected district attorney, and in 1868 started a law practice with his cousin called __Stevenson & Ewing__. !!!Congressman Due to the South and Democrats succeeding from the Union during the Civil War, Democrats were unpopular during Reconstruction. In 1874, the first Democratic majority to the hold the Congress since the war was elected, and Stevenson was among those Democrats elected to the House. However, in 1876 when Republican Rutherford Hayes became president, Stevenson lost re-election to the House. Undaunted, Stevenson ran again in 1878 as a Democrat and as a Greenback and regained his seat. Changes in the political climate in both Illinois and the nation would see him lose his final re-election bid for Congress in 1880, and back to Illinois and his law practice. !!!Post Master In 1884, Stevenson served as delegate to the Democratic convention, and voted to make __Grover Cleveland__ party nominee for president. …show more content…
Then he was appointed __First Assistant Post Master__, a low paying but coveted position around the country. The Post Master was a fixture in communities due to being in charge of mail, newspaper, and magazine deliveries. Another role of the Post Master was delivering political party pamphlets, and Stevenson used this role to gain votes for Democrats distributing their materials to voters. Stevenson was well suited to the duties of this position due to his personable character and nature, and earned the nickname ‘Headsman’ for helping to elect 40,000 Democrats who unseated Republicans across the country.
To reward Stevenson, President Cleveland tried to have him appointed to the Supreme Court of D.C., but was blocked by vengeful Republicans. Cleveland would lose his re-election campaign, only to return to the White House four years later. In 1892, when Cleveland regained the Democratic nomination for president, he made Stevenson his running mate.
Politics during the __Gilded Age__ were a mix of many economic and social issues like civil service reform, and the debate surrounding the __gold standard__ or __bimetallism__ to value currency. Stevenson was pro bimetallism which would use both gold and silver to value money in turn placing more money into circulation. Cleveland was pro gold standard which restricted the amount of money in circulation. Together, they balanced the ticket and attracted enough voters to win the Election of 1892.
!!!Vice President Stevenson presided over the Senate irrespective of party and with attention to the ever important rules that governed the body. He was known for having a wonderful sense of humor privately, but while in session over the Senate was without humor and professional. The conflicts between gold standard proponents and their bimetallism counterparts spilled over into the Cleveland administration, and prevented Stevenson from being much of an advisor to the president during their four years together. The __Populist Movement__ began with an earnest attempt to give farmers