Chester A. Arthur

                                          

Overview•Twenty-First President

•1881-1885

•Political Party: Republican

•The A is for Alan

His Life• Born: October 5, 1829 in Fairfield, Vermont • Died: November 18, 1886 in New York, New York• Married: Ellen Lewis Herndon (1837-1880), on October

25, 1859 • Three Children:

– William Lewis Herndon Arthur (1860-63)– Chester Alan Arthur (1864-1937)

• Ellen Herndon Arthur (1871-1915)• Religion: Episcopalian• Graduated from Union College (1848)

Nicknames

• "The Gentleman Boss"

• "Elegant Arthur"

• Arthur was given these nicknames because he loved to spend money, and have nice things.

• Disgusted with the shabby look of the White House, Arthur hired the most famous designer in New York, Louis Comfort Tiffany, to fix it up

Previous careers•Teacher•Lawyer•Quartermaster General of New York, 1862-63•Collector of Customs, Port of New York, 1871-78•Vice President, 1881 (under Garfield)•President of the United States, 1881-85

Political Achievements•Domestic Policy Highlights:

– Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act– Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882– Tariff reduction

•Foreign Policy Highlights: – U.S. Navy expansion– Reciprocal trade agreements

Honesty and Integrity• Many people involved in the politics of the day predicted an enormous amount of

corruption during Arthur's Presidency.• Arthur ran the presidency in an honest and upright fashion. In fact, he showed great

political courage by • Vetoed graft-laden "rivers and harbors" bill• Broke relations with his former New York political boss Vigorously prosecuting fellow

Republicans accused of defrauding the government. • Legislatively, though, little of any consequence was achieved during his term except for

the creation of the modern Civil Service system with its competitive examinations and non-political merit system. It became law because, in another display of exceptional political courage, Chester Arthur went against the will of his own party and supported it.

• “No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted, and no one ever retired ... more generally respected”

Cabinet• Secretaries of State. James G. Blaine (1881); Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (1881-85).

• Secretaries of the Treasury. William Windom (1881); Charles J. Folger (1881-84); Walter Q. Gresham (1884); Hugh McCulloch (1884-85).

• Secretary of War. Robert T. Lincoln (1881-85).

• Attorneys General. I. Wayne MacVeagh (1881); Benjamin H. Brewster (1882-85).

• Secretaries of the Navy. William H. Hunt (1881-82); William E. Chandler (1882-85).

• Postmasters General. Thomas L. James (1881); Timothy O. Howe (1882-83); Walter Q. Gresham (1883-84); Frank Hatton (1884-85).

• Secretaries of the Interior. Samuel J. Kirkwood (1881-82); Henry M. Teller (1882-85).

• Appointments to the Supreme Court. Horace Gray (1882-1902); Samuel Blatchford (1882-93).

Garfield• In July 1881, after only four months in office, President Garfield was

mortally wounded at the Washington railroad station by gunfire from a disgruntled office seeker and died 80 days later, leaving Chester A. Arthur as President of the United States and the third President to have served as President within a 12 month period.

Winfield Scott Hancock

Garfield Hancock

Popular Votes 4,453,295 4,414,082

Electoral Votes 214 155

Other stuff• American Red Cross established (1882) • Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) • Immigration act bars paupers, criminals, and

insane from United States (1882) • First steel cruisers authorized to modernize

United States Navy (1882) • Star Routes postal fraud cases prosecuted (1882) • Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883) • Tariff Act (1883) • Civil government established in Alaska (1884)

• A stalemated party system and a divided congress limited the achievements of Arthur's term. He prosecuted grafters in the Post Office and vetoed (1882) rivers and harbors legislation, but Congress overrode his veto. Arthur also vetoed (1882) a bill that restricted Chinese immigration, compelling the lawmakers to pass an improved and less harsh measure. After the Republicans lost the midterm congressional elections of 1882, Congress enacted, with Arthur's support, the Pendleton Law that created a Civil Service Commission and a classified merit system. His support of a lower tariff failed when Congress enacted the high protective tariff of 1883.

• President Arthur could not seek a second term as President because he had been diagnosed as having kidney disease. In fact, it claimed his life within two years of leaving office; he died in New York City on November 18, 1886.

• He dedicated the Washington Monument on February 21, 1885.

More Other Stuff

Bibliography

• http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ca21.html

• http://www.americanpresident.org/KoTrain/Courses/CAA/CAA_In_Brief.htm

• http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/ea/bios/21parth.html

• http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/aae/bios/21parth.html

• http://www.paulsilhan.com/pres1.htm

• http://ipl.si.umich.edu/div/potus/jagarfield.htm

• http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/hall2/chests.htm

• http://library.thinkquest.org/12587/contents/personalities/carthur/caa.html

• http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/hall2/chests.htm

• www.generalsandbrevets.com/ ngh/hancock.htm

• http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=21