Grover Cleveland was a contradiction to almost everyone but himself. The only member of the Democratic Party to serve as chief executive between the Civil War and World War One, Cleveland incurred the most spiteful opposition from members of his own party. Still seeking to reconcile the lingering antipathy of the Civil War, the United States was simultaneously dealing with the closing of the western frontier, industrialisation, an emerging global economy, and a governmental structure mired in exploitation and corruption. Cleveland’s rise to political prominence is particularly surprising considering his insistence on integrity over favouritism and equity over partisan loyalty.