What did Grover Cleveland do before he was president?

Grover Cleveland's first career was in law. He began this career as an attorney in a law firm before leaving to open his own firm. He was successful enough that he hired a substitute to take his place during the Civil War draft. He did not spend long as a private practitioner before being appointed as the District Attorney of his county. He sought to be elected to the office, however he ended up losing narrowly. He then ran for the office of sheriff, which he won. From this point he worked his way up to the office of mayor, then governor, before finally running for president. Grover Cleveland's career was almost entirely devoted to the attainment of political office.