Two days later, in Washington, D.C., Arthur was given the oath of office by the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. [126] Just before going into recess in May 1881, the situation became more complicated when Conkling and the other senator from New York, Thomas C. Platt, resigned in protest of Garfield's continuing opposition to their faction. [125] Immediately, the Democrats attempted to organize the Senate, knowing that the vacancies would soon be filled by Republicans. Additionally, the Pendleton Act allowed for the establishment of a bipartisan Civil Service Commission to enforce the law. The court renders a verdict in the second Star-Route case. [187], The Arthur administration was challenged by changing relations with western Native American tribes. [10] Arthur's mother, Malvina Stone was born in Berkshire, Vermont, the daughter of George Washington Stone and Judith Stevens. [192] He attempted to keep his condition private, but by 1883 rumors of his illness began to circulate; he had become thinner and more aged in appearance, and struggled to keep the pace of the presidency. Arthur took this step to ensure procedural compliance; there had been a lingering question about whether a state court judge (Brady) could administer a federal oath of office. [83] In 1876, Conkling was a candidate for president at the 1876 Republican National Convention, but the nomination was won by reformer Rutherford B. Hayes on the seventh ballot. [84] Arthur and the machine gathered campaign funds with their usual zeal, but Conkling limited his own campaign activities for Hayes to a few speeches. The Presidency of Chester Arthur spanned the period in United States history that encompasses the events of the Maturation Era or the Gilded Age. [135], Arthur arrived in Washington, D.C. on September 21. 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. During this time, Arthur joined the Republican Party, which was established by anti-slavery activists in 1854. His father was a preacher. Twenty-first President, 1881-1885. The portion of the law denying citizenship to Chinese-American children born in the United States was later found unconstitutional in, Earlier in 1874, during the Grant administration, Congress approved funds to rebuild four. [81] Nevertheless, the movement for civil service reform continued to chip away at Conkling's patronage machine; in 1874 Custom House employees were found to have improperly assessed fines against an importing company as a way to increase their own incomes, and Congress reacted, repealing the moiety system and putting the staff, including Arthur, on regular salaries. [218] At the dedication, Secretary of War Elihu Root described Arthur as, "wise in statesmanship and firm and effective in administration," while acknowledging that Arthur was isolated in office and unloved by his own party. Portrait of Chester Arthur, vice president to James Garfield. To the surprise of reformers, he advocated and enforced the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. However, after President Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau, he passed away on September 19 in the year of 1881. By the time of Garfield's assassination, most political observers thought that Arthur had lost any power or influence that he did have with the president. The bill passed both houses narrowly on March 3, 1883, the last full day of the 47th Congress; Arthur signed the measure into law, with no effect on the surplus. [60] In the presidential election of 1864, Arthur and Murphy raised funds from Republicans in New York, and they attended the second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Although he campaigned for Garfield and helped get him elected, Arthur broke with Garfield after the election. [189] He also favored a move to the allotment system, under which individual Native Americans, rather than tribes, would own land. His father, William Arthur, had immigrated to the United States from northern Ireland when he was 18 and had become a Baptist minister. His father, William Ford (1826-1905), was born in County Cork, Ireland, to a family that had emigrated from Somerset, England in the 16th century. North Fairfield Baptist Church 5964 Duffy Hill Road, Fairfield, Vermont Ten fun facts about Chester A. Arthur. Under this system, elected officials rewarded their supporters with political appointments in their administrations. [128] The assassin, Charles J. Guiteau was a deranged office-seeker who believed that Garfield's successor would appoint him to a patronage job. [68][g] Arthur resigned after Democrats controlled by William M. Tweed of Tammany Hall won a legislative majority, which meant they could name their own appointee. [44] In another civil rights case in 1854, Arthur was the lead attorney representing Elizabeth Jennings Graham after she was denied a seat on a streetcar because she was black. "[4] Chester A. Arthur, former machine politician, became a reformer in the Presidency. [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. The commission's recommendations were ignored, however, as the House Ways and Means Committee, dominated by protectionists, provided a 10% reduction. [190] During Arthur's presidency, settlers and cattle ranchers continued to encroach on Native American territory. Born in an read more, Ellen Arthur (1837-80) was the wife of Chester A. Arthur, 21st president of the United States, though she never served as first lady because she died of pneumonia before her husband assumed office. [173] Garfield's Secretary of the Navy, William H. Hunt advocated reform of the Navy. Copyright 2022. During Chester Arthurs childhood, his family moved around Vermont and upstate New York for his fathers work. All nine defendants are found not guilty. All Rights Reserved. "[154], With high revenue held over from wartime taxes, the federal government had collected more than it spent since 1866; by 1882 the surplus reached $145 million. [85] Hayes's opponent, New York Governor Samuel J. Tilden, carried New York and won the popular vote nationwide, but after the resolution of several months of disputes over twenty electoral votes (from Florida, Louisiana, Oregon, and South Carolina), Hayes was declared the winner. [133] Through the summer, Arthur refused to travel to Washington and was at his Lexington Avenue home when, on the night of September 19, he learned that Garfield had died. 9. 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. The act is designed to ban companies from importing immigrant workers to break strikes and drive down wages. "[5] Mark Twain wrote of him, "It would be hard indeed to better President Arthur's administration. After exiting the White House in March 1885, Arthur returned to New York City to resume his legal career. "[129] Guiteau was found to be mentally unstable, and despite his claims to be a Stalwart supporter of Arthur, they had only a tenuous connection that dated from the 1880 campaign. [56] Even as his professional life improved, however, Arthur and his wife experienced a personal tragedy as their only child, William, died suddenly that year at the age of two. [19][c] The family remained in Fairfield until 1832, when William Arthur's profession took them to churches in several towns in Vermont and upstate New York. [20] Arthur also supported the Fenian Brotherhood, an Irish republican organization founded in America; he showed this support by wearing a green coat. [182] Having won an election in that state on a platform of more education funding (for black and white schools alike) and abolition of the poll tax and the whipping post, many northern Republicans saw the Readjusters as a more viable ally in the South than the moribund southern Republican party. [197] He kept up a token effort, believing that to drop out would cast doubt on his actions in office and raise questions about his health, but by the time the convention began in June, his defeat was assured. An 1848 graduate of Union College, Arthur was admitted to the New York City bar in 1851, and he established a legal practice in New York City that same year. Major events during the Arthur administration included, civil service reform, an effort to combat postal fraud, unsuccessful tries at meaningful tariff reform and wasteful spending. [192] To rejuvenate his health outside the confines of Washington, Arthur and some political friends traveled to Florida in April 1883. When Arthur was nominated for vice president in 1880, a New York attorney and political opponent, Arthur P. Hinman, initially speculated that Arthur was born in Ireland and did not come to the United States until he was fourteen years old. The number of Civil Service positions affected by the bill would later be expanded. 10 Interesting Facts About Chester Arthur 10. Arthur is remembered primarily for three things: He was never elected to the presidency and two significant pieces of legislation, one positive and the other negative. On his grave marker, his birth year is incorrectly given as 1830. [196] Reform-minded Republicans, friendlier to Arthur after he endorsed civil service reform, were still not certain enough of his reform credentials to back him over Senator George F. Edmunds of Vermont, who had long favored their cause. The assassin's bullet that wounded President James Garfield in July had claimed his life the day before. [168] Three years later, after China had agreed to treaty revisions, Congress tried again to exclude working class Chinese laborers; Senator John F. Miller of California introduced another Chinese Exclusion Act that blocked entry of Chinese laborers for a twenty-year period. [43] The argument was successful, and after several appeals was upheld by the New York Court of Appeals in 1860. [132] Also, after Conkling's resignation, the Senate had adjourned without electing a president pro tempore, who would normally follow Arthur in the succession. [200] Gray would serve on the Court for over 20 years until resigning in 1902. [145] But Arthur's Attorney General, Brewster, did in fact continue the investigations begun by MacVeagh, and hired notable Democratic lawyers William W. Ker and Richard T. Merrick to strengthen the prosecution team and forestall the skeptics. The Brooklyn Bridge was the first bridge to be built across the East River linking New York City and Brooklyn. He succeeded James Garfield who had been assassinated in 1881. Postal Service and pushed for the modernization of the U.S. Navy. A skilled fisherman 8. Chester A. Arthur's four-year presidency is often overlooked by historians. [218], Arthur's unpopularity in life carried over into his assessment by historians and his reputation after leaving office disappeared. Facts about Chester A Arthur 2: in American civil war [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. Congress was unable to override the veto, but passed a new bill reducing the immigration ban to ten years. [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. Major Events During Arthur's Presidency As president, Chester A. Arthur achieved four major things: Civil Service Reform Limiting Immigration Building a Modern Navy Arthur also. Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont, grew up in upstate New York and practiced law in New York City. He served four terms in Congress but left in 1843 to mount an unsuccessful run for the governorship of New read more. Arthurs administration also fought fraud in the U.S. [128] Once there, he traveled with Conkling to Albany, where the former senator hoped for a quick re-election to the Senate, and with it, a defeat for the Garfield administration. **PRE-ORDER** The Chester House from Dept 56 Christmas Vacation Snow Village **SHIPS LATE NOVEMBER** $149. He remained at the job until 1870 at a salary of $10,000 a year. [182] He followed the same pattern in other Southern states, forging coalitions with independents and Greenback Party members. Congress passes an act regarding civil government in Alaska. [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. Reformer in the Presidency of Washington, Arthur 's Presidency, settlers and ranchers! 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