238 lessons. [143] Frelinghuysen advised Arthur not to fill any future vacancies with Stalwarts, but when Postmaster General James resigned in January 1882, Arthur selected Timothy O. Howe, a Wisconsin Stalwart. Arthur was a member of the Republican Party and worked as a lawyer before becoming the twentieth vice president under James Garfield. [30] This claim, too, failed to gain credence. . Arthur was a member of the Republican Party. [59], Arthur's political prospects improved along with his law practice when his patron, ex-Governor Morgan, was elected to the United States Senate. [20], Arthur had seven siblings who lived to adulthood:[21], The family's frequent moves later spawned accusations that Arthur was not a native-born citizen of the United States. Chester A. Arthur, 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. [57] The couple took their son's death hard, and when they had another son, Chester Alan Jr., in 1864, they lavished attention on him. At the outset, Arthur struggled to overcome a negative reputation as a Stalwart and product of Conkling's organization. [166] He also signed in August of that year the Immigration Act of 1882, which levied a 50-cent tax on immigrants to the United States, and excluded from entry the mentally ill, the intellectually disabled, criminals, or any other person potentially dependent upon public assistance. 0. [108] Their opponents in the Republican party, known as Half-Breeds, concentrated their efforts on James G. Blaine, a senator from Maine who was more amenable to civil service reform. Arthur also worked to outlaw polygamy in Utah, opposed the exclusion of Chinese and modernized the Navy. [202] Senator George Edmunds was Arthur's next choice, but he declined to be considered. [182] Some black Republicans felt betrayed by the pragmatic gambit, but others (including Frederick Douglass and ex-Senator Blanche K. Bruce) endorsed the administration's actions, as the Southern independents had more liberal racial policies than the Democrats. Chester A. Arthur was born on October 5, 1829, in North Fairfield, Vermont. He served four terms in Congress but left in 1843 to mount an unsuccessful run for the governorship of New read more. [147] After a juror came forward with allegations that the defendants attempted to bribe him, the judge set aside the guilty verdicts and granted a new trial. [218], Arthur's unpopularity in life carried over into his assessment by historians and his reputation after leaving office disappeared. [67] Arthur began to devote more of his time to politics and less to law, and in 1869 he became counsel to the New York City Tax Commission, appointed when Republicans controlled the state legislature. [9], Chester Alan Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont. [194] Reporters accompanied the presidential party, helping to publicize the new National Park system. [223] Since 1944 it has been the location of Kalustyan's Spice Emporium. Later that day he took a train to Long Branch to pay his respects to Garfield and to leave a card of sympathy for his wife, afterwards returning to New York City. [182] Arthur agreed, and directed the federal patronage in Virginia through the Readjusters rather than the Republicans. The President vetoes the River and Harbor Act, a pork-barrel piece of legislation that Arthur claimed would benefit only particular localities; Congress overrides the veto and passes the legislation the next day. [151], At first, the act applied only to 10% of federal jobs and, without proper implementation by the president, it could have gone no further. Arthur requested standardized time 6. Dignified, tall, and handsome, with clean-shaven chin and side-whiskers, Chester A. Arthur "looked like a President." The son of a Baptist preacher who had . [163] Frelinghuysen also discontinued Blaine's peace efforts in the War of the Pacific, fearing that the United States might be drawn into the conflict. [219] By 1935, historian George F. Howe said that Arthur had achieved "an obscurity in strange contrast to his significant part in American history. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. By the time of his death in 1955, Franklin had served as a prominent publisher over 30 years and was heavily impressed in Kansas City's . Congress passes the so-called Mongrel Tariff Act, a complex tariff revision that reduces rates on various items by less than 2 percent; Arthur had lobbied Congress for a 20 to 25 percent cut on all items. [164] Similar efforts at reciprocal trade treaties with Santo Domingo and Spain's American colonies were defeated by February 1885, and an existing reciprocity treaty with the Kingdom of Hawaii was allowed to lapse. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. [132] Also, after Conkling's resignation, the Senate had adjourned without electing a president pro tempore, who would normally follow Arthur in the succession. [196] In the months leading up to the 1884 Republican National Convention, however, Arthur began to realize that neither faction of the Republican party was prepared to give him their full support: the Half-Breeds were again solidly behind Blaine, while Stalwarts were undecided; some backed Arthur, with others considering Senator John A. Logan of Illinois. [207] Arthur was buried with his family members and ancestors in the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York. [217], In 1898, the Arthur memorial statuea fifteen-foot (4.6m), bronze figure of Arthur standing on a Barre Granite pedestalwas created by sculptor George Edwin Bissell and installed at Madison Square, in New York City. He presided over the rebirth of the US Navy, but he was criticized for failing to alleviate the federal budget surplus which had been accumulating since the end of the Civil War. [10] William Arthur also spent a brief time studying law, but while still in Waterville, he departed from both his legal studies and his Presbyterian upbringing to join the Free Will Baptists; he spent the rest of his life as a minister in that sect. Chester Alan Arthur 21st President of the United States (September 19, 1881 to March 3, 1885) Nickname: "The Gentleman Boss"; "Elegant Arthur" Born: October 5, 1829, in Fairfield, Vermont Died: November 18, 1886, in New York, New York. [123] Garfield ultimately appointed a Stalwart, Thomas Lemuel James, to be Postmaster General, but the cabinet fight and Arthur's ill-considered speech left the President and Vice President clearly estranged when they took office on March 4, 1881. [146] An 1882 trial of the ringleaders resulted in convictions for two minor conspirators and a hung jury for the rest. Why Did Zachary Taylor Oppose the Compromise of 1850? [175] He gave full authority to his new Secretary of Navy William E. Chandler, Hunt's successor. The first vacancy arose in July 1881 with the death of Associate Justice Nathan Clifford, a Democrat who had been a member of the Court since before the Civil War. [94] The Senate's Commerce Committee, chaired by Conkling, unanimously rejected all the nominees; the full Senate rejected Roosevelt by a vote of 3125[95] and similarly turned down the nomination of Prince by the same margin, later confirming Merritt only because Sharpe's term had expired. The foreman of the jury charges that a government agent attempted to bribe him, and the judge orders a retrial, to begin on December 7, 1882. He also oversaw the establishment of the Naval War College and the Office of Naval Intelligence. Chester A. Arthur's Civil War Service Before the Civil War Arthur joined the state militia in 1858 as a means of forming political connections. In 1866, Arthur unsuccessfully attempted to secure the position of Naval Officer at the New York Custom House, a lucrative job subordinate only to the Collector. [37], After graduating in 1848, Arthur returned to Schaghticoke and became a full-time teacher, and soon began to pursue an education in law. [205] On November 22, a private funeral was held at the Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City, attended by President Cleveland and ex-President Hayes, among other notables. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, Physician keeps Presidents disease secret, Proclamation against settlement in Oklahoma, Notice of Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity. [149] This legislation greatly expanded similar civil service reforms attempted by President Franklin Pierce 30 years earlier. 8 chapters | [200] Gray would serve on the Court for over 20 years until resigning in 1902. [99] Conkling opposed the confirmation of Merritt and Burt when the Senate reconvened in February 1879, but Merritt was approved by a vote of 3125, as was Burt by 3119, giving Hayes his most significant civil service reform victory. In 1859, Arthur married Ellen Nell Lewis Herndon (1837-1880), the Virginia-born daughter of a U.S. naval officer. Nell Arthur died of pneumonia at age 42, less than two years before her husband became president. Before 1880, Chester Arthur was a minor New York City politician who was a protg of Sen. Roscoe Conkling of the Empire State. The most important events of his administration were the passage of the Tariff Act of 1883 and of the "Edmunds Law" prohibiting polygamy in the territories, and the completion of three great transcontinental railways -- the Southern Pacific, the Northern Pacific, and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. Chester A. Arthur 's tenure as the 21st president of the United States began on September 19, 1881, when he succeeded to the presidency upon the assassination of President James A. Garfield, and ended on March 4, 1885. [224], "Chester Alan Arthur" and "Chester Arthur" redirect here. He succeeded James Garfield who had been assassinated in 1881. The act also forbade workers from being fired for political reasons and prohibited compulsory political donations from employees. His son Washington took over, supervising the construction project that took thirteen years and more than $15 million to complete (three times as long and twice as expensive as had been anticipated). The Democratic nominee, General Winfield Scott Hancock was popular and having avoided taking definitive positions on most issues of the day, he had not offended any pivotal constituencies. The Chinese immigration ban would eventually be extended up through the 1920s. https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/chester-a-arthur. This was a very ironic situation, because the reason Guiteau assassinated . [20] He was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity,[38] and as a senior he was president of the debate society and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Chester A. Arthur Is the Most Forgotten President in U.S. History, According to Science Chester A. Arthur Is the Most Forgotten President in U.S. History, According to Science "Unless. For political reasons and prohibited compulsory political donations from employees, Vermont husband became president 175 ] he gave authority! Donations from employees 8 chapters | [ 200 ] Gray would serve on the Court for over years! 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