Adlai Stevenson I
Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Grover Cleveland. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative for Illinois in the late 1870s and early 1880s. He was the founder of the Stevenson political family.
Adlai Stevenson I | |
|---|---|
Stevenson in 1908 | |
| 23rd Vice President of the United States | |
| In office March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897 | |
| President | Grover Cleveland |
| Preceded by | Levi P. Morton |
| Succeeded by | Garret Hobart |
| 21st First Assistant United States Postmaster General | |
| In office August 1, 1885 – March 4, 1889 | |
| President | Grover Cleveland |
| Preceded by | Malcolm Hay |
| Succeeded by | James S. Clarkson |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 13th district | |
| In office March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas F. Tipton |
| Succeeded by | Dietrich C. Smith |
| In office March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877 | |
| Preceded by | John McNulta |
| Succeeded by | Thomas F. Tipton |
| State's Attorney of Woodford County, Illinois | |
| In office 1859–1869 | |
| Preceded by | Major W. Packard |
| Succeeded by | Martin L. Newell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Adlai Ewing Stevenson October 23, 1835 Christian County, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | June 14, 1914 (aged 78) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Resting place | Evergreen Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Letitia Green (m. 1866) |
| Children | 4, including Lewis |
| Relatives | Stevenson family Adlai Stevenson II (Grandson) Adlai Stevenson III (Great-Grandson) Adlai Stevenson IV (Great-Great-Grandson) McLean Stevenson (Great-Grandnephew) |
| Education | Centre College (BA) |
| Signature | |
After his appointment as assistant postmaster general of the United States during Grover Cleveland's first administration (1885–1889), he fired many Republican postal workers and replaced them with Southern Democrats. This earned him the enmity of the Republican-controlled Congress, but made him a favorite as Grover Cleveland's running mate in 1892, and he was elected vice president of the United States.
In office, he supported the free-silver lobby against the gold-standard men like Cleveland, but was praised for governing in a dignified, non-partisan manner.
In 1900, he ran for vice president with William Jennings Bryan. In doing so, he became the fourth vice president to run for that post teamed with two different presidential candidates (after George Clinton, John C. Calhoun and Thomas A. Hendricks). Stevenson was the grandfather of Adlai Stevenson II, a Governor of Illinois and the unsuccessful Democratic presidential nominee in both 1952 and 1956.