Adlai Stevenson

Adlai Ewing Stevenson I was an Illinois lawyer and Democratic politician who served in Congress, became assistant postmaster general, and served as the twenty-third vice president. He was the second vice president to serve under Grover Cleveland, because Cleveland's two presidencies were nonconsecutive. Stevenson later became the Democratic vice-presidential nominee again in 1900.

Stevenson was born on October 23, 1835, near Christian County, Kentucky. His family moved to Illinois during his childhood, and he attended Centre College in Kentucky. He studied law and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1858. He subsequently established a legal practice in Bloomington, Illinois, where he became active in Democratic politics.

Stevenson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1874 and served from 1875 to 1877. He returned to the House in 1879 and served until 1881. After Grover Cleveland became president in 1885, Cleveland appointed Stevenson first assistant postmaster general. In that position, Stevenson became responsible for removing thousands of Republican-appointed postmasters, making him an important participant in the Democratic administration's patronage system.

Stevenson returned to Congress in 1889 and served until 1893. The Democrats nominated him for vice president alongside Grover Cleveland in 1892. They defeated the Republican ticket of Benjamin Harrison and Whitelaw Reid, returning Cleveland to the White House for a second, nonconsecutive term. Stevenson therefore became vice president on March 4, 1893.

As vice president, Stevenson presided over the Senate during a period dominated by the economic crisis that began with the Panic of 1893 and the debate over monetary policy, particularly the use of silver. He generally supported the Democratic administration's position on monetary policy. After Cleveland's second term ended in 1897, Stevenson again became the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in 1900, this time running alongside William Jennings Bryan. The ticket lost to William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

Stevenson remained active in Democratic politics after leaving the vice presidency. He was considered for several national nominations and continued speaking and campaigning for Democratic candidates. His grandson, Adlai Stevenson II, later became governor of Illinois and the Democratic presidential nominee in 1952 and 1956. Adlai Stevenson I died in Chicago on June 14, 1914.

Stevenson's legacy includes his role in the Democratic politics of the late nineteenth century and the development of the vice presidency as a more visible political office. He is also notable as the first vice president whose grandson later became a major national presidential candidate. His career connects the Democratic Party of the Gilded Age with the progressive-era Democratic politics represented by William Jennings Bryan.