Adlai Stevenson I

Adlai Ewing Stevenson
Adlai Ewing Stevenson
Born	Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age; Christian County, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	14 June 1914 (aged 78)
Occupation(s)	Statesman, diplomat, lawyer, politician
Years active	1859–1914
Known for	23rd Vice President of the United States (1893–1897), U.S. Representative from Illinois, Assistant United States Postmaster General

Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American statesman and diplomat who held the office of the 23rd Vice President of the United States from 1893 to 1897, serving under President Grover Cleveland. As a dedicated member of the Democratic Party, Stevenson represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives during the late 1870s and early 1880s and established the prominent Stevenson political family legacy.

During Cleveland's initial presidency in 1885, Stevenson was appointed assistant United States Postmaster General, where he replaced numerous Republican postal employees with Southern Democrats. This move provoked opposition from the Republican-led Congress but ultimately solidified his position as Cleveland’s vice-presidential running mate in the 1892 election. While serving as vice president, Stevenson backed the free silver movement, opposing Cleveland’s preference for the gold standard, and earned recognition for his respectful and bipartisan leadership style. Notably, he was the first vice president to serve alongside a president elected to a non-consecutive second term.

In the 1900 election, Stevenson was selected as the vice-presidential candidate alongside William Jennings Bryan. He was also the grandfather of Adlai Stevenson II, who later served as Illinois governor and was the Democratic nominee for president in both the 1952 and 1956 elections.

Ancestry

Adlai Ewing Stevenson entered the world on October 23, 1835, in Christian County, Kentucky, born to John Turner and Eliza Ann Ewing Stevenson, who were devout adherents of the Wesleyan faith and of Scots-Irish heritage. The Stevenson lineage traces back to early 18th-century settlers from Roxburghshire, Scotland, where they possessed some affluence as indicated by a family-named private chapel within the Archdiocese of St Andrews. Following the Jacobite rising of 1715, they migrated to County Antrim, Ireland, near Belfast. Adlai’s great-grandfather, William Stephenson, worked as a tailor specializing in millinery. After his father's passing in the 1730s, William's family moved to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he completed an apprenticeship in 1748.

By 1762, the family had moved again to what is now known as Iredell County, North Carolina. William Stephenson adopted the surname Stevenson after the American Revolution and accumulated substantial landholdings by his death. One family branch, including Adlai's father, migrated to Kentucky in 1813.

Early life

Born on his family's farmstead in Christian County, Stevenson attended Blue Water School located near Herndon, Kentucky. Among his childhood peers were future Kentucky congressman James A. McKenzie and Amanda Barkley, who would become grandmother to Vice President Alben W. Barkley. In 1850, a frost devastated their tobacco crops; two years later, his father emancipated their few enslaved individuals and moved the family to Bloomington, Illinois, where he managed a sawmill. Stevenson pursued higher education at Illinois Wesleyan University before graduating from Centre College, Danville, Kentucky; he was affiliated with the fraternity Phi Delta Theta.

After his father’s death, Stevenson returned to Illinois to oversee the sawmill operations. He studied law under Bloomington attorney Robert E. Williams and gained admission to the bar in 1858, launching his legal career in Metamora. Early on, he encountered notable Illinois lawyers such as Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, actively campaigning for Douglas during the famous 1858 Senate contest against Lincoln. Stevenson's opposition toward Lincoln may have been influenced by a contentious encounter marked by Lincoln's sharp criticism. Additionally, he publicly denounced the "Know-Nothing" nativist movement that opposed immigrants and Catholics—a position that helped him gain support from Illinois' German and Irish populations. Although practicing law in an area dominated by Republicans, Stevenson's engaging storytelling and charismatic demeanor enabled him to cultivate a loyal Democratic following.

Marriage and political career, 1859–1884

Beginning in 1859, Stevenson held the position of state's attorney for Woodford County. During the American Civil War, he was appointed as master in chancery. In 1864, he served as a presidential elector representing the Democratic Party.

In 1866, Stevenson wed Letitia Green. Together, they had four children: three daughters—Mary, Julia, and Letitia—and a son, Lewis Stevenson. Letitia was instrumental in founding the Daughters of the American Revolution, an organization aimed at mending the divisions following the Civil War, and she became its second president-general.

Following his tenure as state's attorney, Stevenson partnered with his cousin James Stevenson Ewing in 1869 to establish the law firm Stevenson & Ewing in Bloomington, Illinois. This firm grew to be one of the most influential legal practices in the state. Ewing later served as the U.S. ambassador to Belgium.

In 1874, Stevenson was selected by the Democratic Party as their congressional candidate. He also earned backing from the Independent Reform Party, which opposed monopolistic practices after the Panic of 1873. During his campaign against Republican incumbent John McNulta, Stevenson criticized McNulta’s support for elevated tariffs and the Salary Grab Act. Despite accusations associating him with the Knights of the Golden Circle, Stevenson secured victory with 52% of the vote, entering the 44th Congress—the first Democratic majority since the Civil War era.

Stevenson narrowly lost his bid for reelection in 1876 amid Republican Rutherford B. Hayes winning his district. He returned to Congress in 1878 running on both Democratic and Greenback tickets but was defeated again in elections held in 1880 and 1882. Although he contemplated running in 1884, redistricting rendered his district predominantly Republican.

Beyond his congressional service, Stevenson expanded his influence within Bloomington by becoming grandmaster of his Masonic lodge and founding the Bloomington Daily Bulletin in 1881 to compete with the Republican-leaning Pantagraph. He also assumed leadership of People's Bank and co-managed McLean County Coal Company alongside his brothers. This enterprise established Stevensonville, a company town where workers reportedly faced political pressure to support him.

Grover Cleveland's election in 1884 and leadership at the U.S. Post Office

The Stevenson family spent vacations at lakeside resorts in Wisconsin, where Stevenson developed a friendship with William Freeman Vilas, a prominent Midwestern Democrat and close associate of Grover Cleveland. As a delegate at the 1884 Democratic National Convention, Stevenson initially supported a regional candidate before shifting his support to Cleveland. Vilas and Stevenson were responsible for notifying Cleveland of his nomination.

Following Cleveland’s presidential victory, Vilas was appointed postmaster general, and Stevenson became assistant postmaster general after the initial appointee fell ill.

In this capacity, Stevenson oversaw the country's largest patronage network. He replaced numerous political adversaries with Democrats, maintaining the era’s spoils system tradition. Toward the conclusion of Cleveland’s administration, Stevenson was nominated for a judgeship on the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia; however, Republican opposition in the Senate prevented his confirmation. Disheartened by this outcome, Stevenson returned to Bloomington after Cleveland’s term concluded.

Vice presidency (1893–1897)

During the 1892 Democratic National Convention, Cleveland secured renomination for president, while Stevenson was chosen as the vice-presidential candidate despite the office's reputation as a political dead-end. His selection was supported by his family and Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison III, aiming to bolster Democratic support in Illinois.

Stevenson abandoned his earlier greenback stance to align with Cleveland’s gold standard policy. In contrast to Cleveland’s limited public engagements, Stevenson actively campaigned across the country alongside his wife, focusing on Southern voters to counter the Populist Party’s growing influence. His Kentucky background helped him gain favor in Southern states. He also opposed the Lodge Bill, which intended to grant voting rights to Southern African Americans. The Cleveland-Stevenson ticket carried Illinois but failed to secure Stevenson's own congressional district.

Reformers advocating for civil service viewed Stevenson as a symbol of the spoils system; he regularly recommended Democrats for postal positions and preferred personal connections over formal endorsements.

During Cleveland’s secretive 1893 oral cancer operation—kept confidential to prevent public alarm—Stevenson was unaware of how close he had been to assuming the presidency.

As vice president, Stevenson presided over the Senate with dignity and fairness, earning commendation for his impartial leadership. Standing six feet tall and known for his courteous manner, he frequently visited the White House but acted more as a courteous guest than a close adviser to Cleveland. The president humorously referred to Stevenson’s "free-silver" associates and even contemplated resigning to transfer authority to him amid economic challenges and party strife.

Presidential campaigns of 1896 and 1900

Stevenson was regarded as a potential successor to Cleveland for the 1896 Democratic nomination but attracted minimal backing. At age 60, he received only scattered votes while the much younger William Jennings Bryan, aged 36, won the convention with his impassioned "Cross of Gold" speech promoting free silver. The Democratic Party rejected Cleveland’s policies by adopting free silver and nominating Bryan. Although many Cleveland supporters opposed Bryan, Stevenson endorsed the party’s ticket.

In the 1900 contest, Bryan remained the leading Democratic candidate. Attention regarding the vice-presidential nomination centered on Indiana Senator Benjamin Shively, who declined the position. Journalist Arthur Wallace Dunn then proposed Stevenson as a compromise candidate capable of uniting both Cleveland loyalists and Bryan supporters. Stevenson emerged as the frontrunner since few were eager to accept a vice-presidential slot on what was considered a challenging ticket.

The Populist Party had nominated Bryan alongside Charles A. Towne, a pro-silver Republican from Minnesota, with Towne expected to withdraw if Democrats selected another candidate. Although Bryan preferred Towne, party leaders backed Stevenson, who replaced Towne on the ticket. Stevenson, having served as vice president under Cleveland in 1892, now partnered with Bryan—Cleveland's former rival—bringing additional age and experience to their campaign. Nonetheless, they suffered a decisive loss to incumbent President William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

Stevenson became only the third U.S. vice president nominated for president with a different running mate, following George Clinton and John C. Calhoun. As of 2023, only Republican Charles W. Fairbanks failed to secure a second term as vice president after such a nomination in 1916.

Final years

By May 1899, the board of the North American Trust Company featured notable figures including John G. Carlisle, Adlai E. Stevenson, and Wager Swayne. Following the 1900 election, Stevenson resumed his legal practice in Illinois and made one last attempt at the governorship in 1908, which he narrowly lost. In 1909, the university founder Jesse Grant Chapline invited him to endorse the distance education institution La Salle Extension University. Stevenson subsequently retired to Bloomington, where locals described him as "verbose yet entertaining."

Stevenson's spouse Letitia passed away on December 25, 1913. After her death and receiving a condolence letter from William Jennings Bryan, Stevenson's health deteriorated quickly. He died in Chicago on June 14, 1914, at the age of 78, and was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Bloomington, Illinois.

Legacy

Stevenson established the prominent Stevenson political lineage, which extended across four generations in Illinois politics. His son, Lewis G. Stevenson, held the office of Illinois secretary of state from 1914 to 1917. His grandson, Adlai Ewing Stevenson II, served as governor of Illinois between 1949 and 1953 and was the Democratic presidential candidate in both 1952 and 1956. The great-grandson, Adlai Ewing Stevenson III, represented Illinois as a U.S. senator from 1970 to 1981 and made two unsuccessful bids for governor.

A bust of Stevenson sculpted by Franklin Simmons in 1894 is included in the United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection housed within the United States Capitol. Interestingly, Stevenson never posed for this work; Simmons relied on photographs to capture his likeness. Initially positioned in a Senate chamber niche, the bust has been moved twice—the latest relocation occurred in 1991 to make space for President George H. W. Bush's bust.

In recognition of Stevenson’s contributions, Centre College named a residence hall "Stevenson House" in 1962; he had been awarded an honorary degree there in 1893. Additionally, his former residence in Metamora, Illinois, occupied by his family from 1859 to 1869, now functions as a museum.

References

Inline

General

External links

Official U.S. Senate biography
Stevensons put stamp on history, www.pantagraph.com

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