Arthur, Chester A.

▪ president of United States

in full  Chester Alan Arthur 

born October 5, 1829, North Fairfield, Vermont, U.S.

died November 18, 1886, New York, New York

 21st president of the United States. Elected vice president on the Republican ticket of 1880, Arthur acceded to the presidency upon the assassination of President James A. Garfield (Garfield, James A.). As president, he confounded his critics and dismayed many of his friends among the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party by supporting the Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883), which provided for the open appointment and promotion of federal employees based on merit rather than patronage. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America.)

      Arthur was the son of William Arthur, a Baptist minister, and Malvina Stone. After graduating in 1848 from Union College in Schenectady, New York, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Arthur studied law and simultaneously taught school; he was admitted to the New York bar in 1854 and joined a law firm in New York City. One year later, he successfully represented Lizzie Jennings, an African American, in her suit against a Brooklyn streetcar company for forcing her off a car reserved for whites. The landmark victory led to a New York law forbidding discrimination in public transportation. An ardent abolitionist, Arthur also pleaded successfully the case of a slave who sued for his freedom on the ground that his master had brought him temporarily to the free state of New York.

      Arthur joined the Republican Party in the 1850s, became active in local politics, and served as quartermaster general of New York state's troops during the Civil War (American Civil War). Resuming his law practice in 1863, he became closely associated with Senator Roscoe Conkling (Conkling, Roscoe), the Republican boss of New York. In 1871, with Conkling's backing, Arthur was appointed customs collector for the port of New York City by President Ulysses S. Grant (Grant, Ulysses S.). The New York customhouse, which brought in the bulk of the nation's tariff revenue, had long been conspicuous for flagrant use of the spoils system, by which Conkling's political supporters were rewarded with government jobs. Although Arthur collected the customs duties with integrity, he continued the practice of overstaffing the customhouse with employees whose chief qualification was loyalty to Conkling.

      In 1877 newly elected President Rutherford B. Hayes (Hayes, Rutherford B.), intent on reducing Conkling's patronage fiefdom, demanded the resignation of Arthur and others in the New York City customhouse. With Conkling's support, Arthur was able to resist Hayes for a time, but in July 1878 Hayes finally suspended him, and Arthur returned to the practice of law.

      Widely regarded as Conkling's protégé, Arthur worked with his mentor at the Republican National Convention of 1880 to secure the renomination of Grant for a third term as president. When the convention deadlocked between the conservative Stalwart and liberal Half-Breed factions, delegates turned to dark-horse candidate James A. Garfield (Garfield, James A.), and Arthur was nominated vice president as a conciliatory gesture to Conkling and the Stalwarts. The public, however, responded coldly to Arthur's nomination, viewing the former customhouse collector as unqualified for the nation's second-highest office.

       Cabinet of President Chester A. ArthurWhen Garfield was assassinated by a disappointed office seeker who wanted the Stalwart Arthur to be president, public apprehension increased markedly. Arthur took the presidential oath on September 19, 1881, amid widespread belief that he, a spoilsman with no experience in shaping public policy, was unworthy of the office to which he had now tragically acceded. Said to have been deeply wounded by the public's low regard for him, Arthur proceeded to prove that he could rise above expectations. In 1882 he displayed surprising independence when he vetoed an $18 million rivers and harbours bill that contained ample funds for projects that could be used for political patronage. Yet it was Arthur's support for the Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883) that clearly showed how far he had come from his days as patronage purveyor at the New York customhouse. Commanding widespread support from the American people, who saw Garfield's assassination as a product of the corrupt spoils system, the Pendleton Act at last made a reality of civil-service reform, creating a merit-based system of appointment and promotion for a limited number of specified offices. Stalwarts, however, viewed Arthur's support for the measure as a betrayal. (The table provides a list of cabinet members in the administration of President Chester A. Arthur. Cabinet of President Chester A. Arthur)

      In 1882, soon after vetoing a bill that would have suspended Chinese immigration to the United States for 20 years, Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), which reduced the suspension to 10 years. In conjunction with his secretary of the navy, William Eaton Chandler (Chandler, William Eaton), Arthur recommended appropriations that would later help to transform the United States Navy (United States Navy, The) into one of the world's great fleets. During Arthur's final year as president, the United States acquired a naval coaling station at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands. (See primary source document: State of the Union, 1882 (Chester Arthur: State of the Union, 1882).)

      Arthur had married Ellen (“Nell”) Lewis Herndon (Ellen Arthur (Arthur, Ellen)) on October 25, 1859. She died of pneumonia shortly after the 1880 election, and when Arthur acceded to the presidency, his sister Mary Arthur McElroy acted as White House hostess.

      At the Republican convention in 1884, Arthur allowed his name to be put forward for the party's presidential nomination even though he knew he was suffering from Bright's disease (Bright disease), a then-incurable kidney ailment. Defeated for the nomination by James G. Blaine (Blaine, James G.), he finished his term, attended the inauguration of Democrat Grover Cleveland (Cleveland, Grover), and then returned to New York City, where he died at his home the following year.

Additional Reading

Studies of Arthur's life include George Frederick Howe, Chester A. Arthur: A Quarter-Century of Machine Politics (1934, reissued 1987); and Thomas C. Reeves, Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur (1975). His election as vice president is documented in Herbert John Clancy, The Presidential Election of 1880 (1958); and his term in office is the main focus of Justus D. Doenecke, The Presidencies of James A. Garfield & Chester A. Arthur (1981).

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