Adlai Stevenson I

Adlai Stevenson I
Stevenson in 1892
23rd Vice President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897
PresidentGrover Cleveland
Preceded byLevi P. Morton
Succeeded byGarret Hobart
21st First Assistant United States Postmaster General
In office
August 1, 1885 – March 4, 1889
PresidentGrover Cleveland
Preceded byMalcolm Hay
Succeeded byJames S. Clarkson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 13th district
In office
March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881
Preceded byThomas F. Tipton
Succeeded byDietrich C. Smith
In office
March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877
Preceded byJohn McNulta
Succeeded byThomas F. Tipton
State's Attorney of Woodford County, Illinois
In office
1859–1869
Preceded byMajor W. Packard
Succeeded byMartin L. Newell
Personal details
Born
Adlai Ewing Stevenson

(1835-10-23)October 23, 1835
Christian County, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedJune 14, 1914(1914-06-14) (aged 78)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Resting placeEvergreen Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
(m. 1866; died 1913)
Children4, including Lewis
RelativesStevenson family
EducationCentre College (BA)
Signature

Adlai Ewing Stevenson I (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, Stevenson served as a U.S. Representative for Illinois in the late 1870s and early 1880s. He was the founder of the Stevenson political family.

After his appointment as assistant postmaster general of the United States during Grover Cleveland's first administration (1885–1889), Stevenson 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. During his term of office, Stevenson 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.[1] In doing so, Stevenson became the fourth vice president that post teamed with two different presidential candidates (after George Clinton, John C. Calhoun and Thomas A. Hendricks). He was the paternal grandfather of Adlai Stevenson II, a Governor of Illinois and the unsuccessful Democratic presidential nominee in both 1952 and 1956.

  1. ^ Baker, Jean H. (1996). The Stevensons: A Biography of An American Family. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-03874-2.