Secretary of State James G. Blaine resigns due to political differences between himself and President Arthur. Biographer George Howe takes this exchange at face value, Conkling and Pratt were ultimately denied re-election, being succeeded by. Arthur was born in Vermont in 1829 and was the son of a Baptist preacher. As president from 1881 to 1885, Arthur advocated for civil service reform. This guided Chester A. Arthur Bio Poem Activity is a great research and poetry writing activity for a lesson, literacy or poetry center or even your substitute file for Presidents' Day or any time of year!Print and Go or Assign the Easel version. The bridge was an engineering marvel, utilizing numerous construction techniques that had never before been attempted on such a massive scale. "[112][j] Conkling eventually relented, and campaigned for the ticket. [200] Blatchford served on the Court until his death in 1893. [190] During Arthur's presidency, settlers and cattle ranchers continued to encroach on Native American territory. [10] William Arthur became an outspoken abolitionist, which often made him unpopular with some members of his congregations and contributed to the family's frequent moves. Diseases And Disabilities. 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. After exiting the White House in March 1885, Arthur returned to New York City to resume his legal career. Arthur urged Congress to increase funding for Native American education, which it did in 1884, although not to the extent he wished. In 1871, President Ulysses Grant (1822-1885), a Republican, named Arthur the customs collector for the Port of New York. [59] Both children survived to adulthood. This was a very ironic situation, because the reason Guiteau assassinated . Critics have long contended that Twain's Puddin' Head Wilson is based on Arthur's reforming of the Civil Service. Less than four months later, on July 2, Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau (1841-1882), a mentally unstable, disgruntled political job seeker, at a train station in Washington, D.C. A Vermont native, he became active in Republican politics in the 1850s as a New York City lawyer. In her absence, the presidents sister, Mary Arthur McElroy, acted as White House read more, Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893), the 19th president of the United States, won a controversial and fiercely disputed election against Samuel Tilden. 4, 1885 Political Party Republican Party (1854-1886), Whig Party (Before 1856) Personal Info Born Oct. 5, 1829 Died Nov. 18, 1886 (at age 57) Religion Episcopal School Union College State and National Law School Profession [193] Later that year, on the advice of Missouri Senator George Graham Vest, he visited Yellowstone National Park. [97][i] Hayes again offered Arthur the position of consul general in Paris as a face-saving consolation; Arthur again declined, as Hayes knew he probably would. It was striking to us that it seemed like common knowledge to all that Chester A. Arthur was born in Waterville and the historical storyline was compelling. Once in Washington he destroyed the mailed proclamation and issued a formal call for a special session. [110] Levi P. Morton, the first choice of Garfield's supporters, consulted with Conkling, who advised him to decline, which he did. They wanted some sort of reforms. [175] He gave full authority to his new Secretary of Navy William E. Chandler, Hunt's successor. [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. In the midterm elections, Democrats gain 50 seats in the House giving them a 197-118 majority (ten remaining seats were filled by minor parties). [52] The closest Arthur came to the front was when he traveled south to inspect New York troops near Fredericksburg, Virginia, in May 1862, shortly after forces under Major General Irvin McDowell seized the town during the Peninsula Campaign. "[91] Arthur and his subordinates, Naval Officer Alonzo B. Cornell and Surveyor George H. Sharpe, refused to obey the president's order; Sherman encouraged Arthur to resign, offering him appointment by Hayes to the consulship in Paris in exchange, but Arthur refused. So too, as it turns out, is the New York City house in which Arthur was sworn in as president, and died just five . The United States Bureau of Labor is created within the Department of the Interior; an independent Department of Labor will not be created until 1913. Journalist Alexander McClure wrote, "No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted as Chester Alan Arthur, and no one ever retired more generally respected, alike by political friend and foe. This man was Chester A. Arthur. [137][m] He initially took up residence at the home of Senator John P. Jones, while a White House remodeling he had ordered was carried out, including addition of an elaborate fifty-foot glass screen by Louis Comfort Tiffany. [47] The rough frontier life did not agree with the genteel New Yorkers; after three or four months the two young lawyers returned to New York City, where Arthur comforted his fiance after her father was lost at sea in the wreck of the SS Central America. [30] This claim, too, failed to gain credence. But, with one assassin's bullet, Arthur instead became the president, any questions of losing power forgotten. 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. Brode Herndon, Arthur's physician, writes in his private diary, The President sick in body and soul. Arthur had been diagnosed that year with Bright's disease, a fatal kidney ailment; his health will deteriorate rapidly while being kept secret from the general public. [64] Conkling, elected to the United States Senate in 1867, noticed Arthur and facilitated his rise in the party, and Arthur became chairman of the New York City Republican executive committee in 1868. Vice President Chester A. Arthur becomes the twenty-first President of the United States The assassin, Guiteau, will be hanged on June 30, 1882. Being obscure, he is not counted among the Presidents whom . In January 1883, he signed the Pendleton Civil Service Act, landmark legislation mandating that certain federal government jobs be distributed based on merit rather than political connections. When he became president after Garfield's assassination, Arthur surprised his party in 1883 by signing the Pendleton Act, which . Arthur became a member of the New York State Militia in the late 1850s, although he never saw combat. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. The Chinese immigration ban would eventually be extended up through the 1920s. [3], Suffering from poor health, Arthur made only a limited effort to secure the Republican Party's nomination in 1884, and he retired at the end of his term. [31][d][32][e][33] When Hinman's original story did not take root, he spread a new rumor that Arthur was born in Canada. [39] Coincidentally, future president James A. Garfield taught penmanship at the same school three years later, but the two did not cross paths during their teaching careers. [79] He was also popular within the Republican party as he efficiently collected campaign assessments from the staff and placed party leaders' friends in jobs as positions became available. A skilled fisherman [70] In 1871, Grant offered to name Arthur as Commissioner of Internal Revenue, replacing Alfred Pleasonton; Arthur declined the appointment. The United States and Luxembourg conclude an extradition treaty in New York. [205] In 1889, a monument was placed on Arthur's burial plot by sculptor Ephraim Keyser of New York, consisting of a giant bronze female angel figure placing a bronze palm leaf on a granite sarcophagus. Political corruption permeated American . Along with overseeing a major renovation of the White House, President Arthur saw three major events happen during his administration: These three accomplishments ensured Arthur that he would have something of a legacy. [100] Arthur immediately took advantage of the resulting free time to work for the election of Edward Cooper as New York City's next mayor. Republicans were pleased with the committee's make-up but were surprised when, in December 1882, they submitted a report to Congress calling for tariff cuts averaging between 20 and 25%. The bill establishes a three-man Civil Service Commission and specifies rules for filling federal government positions according to a merit system. [149] Both Democratic and Republican leaders realized that they could attract the votes of reformers by turning against the spoils system and, by 1882, a bipartisan effort began in favor of reform. "[4] July 14, 2017. His father, William Arthur, had immigrated to America from northern Ireland when he was 18 and had become a Baptist minister. As a young boy, he attended schools in Perry and Greenwich, New York, before enrolling at the Union College in 1845. Murphy was also a hatter who sold goods to the Union Army, and Arthur represented him in Washington. Arthur was a member of the Republican Party. For his son, see. 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. [41] When Arthur was admitted to the New York bar in 1854, he joined Culver's firm, which was subsequently renamed Culver, Parker, and Arthur. 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. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), he was quartermaster for the state of New York, responsible for organizing food and supplies for Union soldiers. [16][17] He was named "Chester" after Chester Abell,[18] the physician and family friend who assisted in his birth, and "Alan" for his paternal grandfather. Arthur, a Republican, had been vice president for 199 days when he succeeded to the presidency. Worst Presidents: Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885) Arthur is one of only a handful of American leaders who did not win a presidential election at the top of his party's ticket. Arthur approves a bill to appoint a tariff commission; the commission eventually recommends tariff reductions. Mary Ruth teaches college history and has a PhD. [185] Arthur did, however, effectively intervene to overturn a court-martial ruling against a black West Point cadet, Johnson Whittaker, after the Judge Advocate General of the Army, David G. Swaim, found the prosecution's case against Whittaker to be illegal and based on racial bias. [142] Despite Arthur's personal appeal to remain, MacVeagh resigned in December 1881 and Arthur replaced him with Benjamin H. Brewster, a Philadelphia lawyer and machine politician reputed to have reformist leanings. 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