[120] The funds were crucial in the close election, and winning his home state of New York was critical. Silver Brooch Chester 1897 AJS Arthur Johnson Smith with Safety Chain Victorian. On graduation, he went on to study law. Arthur was also involved in the so-called Lemmon slave case, in which the New York Supreme Court ruled in 1860 that slaves being transferred to a slave state through New York would be freed. His father, William Arthur, had immigrated to the United States from northern Ireland when he was 18 and had become a Baptist minister. [200] Blatchford accepted, and his nomination was approved by the Senate within two weeks. 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. As president, Chester A. Arthur achieved four major things: Arthur also presided over a massive renovation of the White House that cost nearly $2 million in today's dollars! 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. Arthur vetoes the first Chinese Exclusion Act, which would have banned the immigration of Chinese laborers for twenty years and denied American citizenship to current Chinese residents; the veto greatly angers labor groups, who feel increasingly threatened by the influx of Chinese labor. The son of a Baptist preacher who had emigrated from northern Ireland, Chester A. Arthur was America's 21st President (1881-85), succeeding President James Garfield upon his assassination. [44] At that time, the state was the scene of a brutal struggle between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces, and Arthur lined up firmly with the latter. 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. In addition to civil service reform, Arthur triedwith limited successto lower tariffs. As the economy soured after the Panic of 1873, Chinese immigrants were blamed for depressing workmen's wages; in reaction Congress in 1879 attempted to abrogate the 1868 treaty by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act, but President Hayes vetoed it. [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. Chester Alan Arthur was born in the village of Fairfield, Vermont, on October 5, 1829. Summary of President Chester Arthur for Kids: "Walrus" Summary: Chester Arthur (1829-1886), nicknamed the "Walrus" or "The Dude President", was the 21st American President and served in office from 1881-1885. Under this system, elected officials rewarded their supporters with political appointments in their administrations. [62] Arthur rarely articulated his own political ideas during his time as a part of the machine; as was common at the time, loyalty and hard work on the machine's behalf was more important than actual political positions. The verdict in the Star-Route trial is rendered. James Garfield added Arthur to the 1880 presidential ticket because he thought it would help him win the state of New York, whose Republican party machine was instrumental to any political victory. [138], Arthur's sister, Mary Arthur McElroy, served as White House hostess for her widowed brother;[138] Arthur became Washington's most eligible bachelor and his social life became the subject of rumors, though romantically, he remained singularly devoted to the memory of his late wife. [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. So too, as it turns out, is the New York City house in which Arthur was sworn in as president, and died just five . [205][q] The next morning, Arthur suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and never regained consciousness. [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. A chronology of key events in the life of Chester Alan Arthur (1829-1886), twenty-first president of the Unites States. [40] In 1852, Arthur moved again, to Cohoes, New York, to become the principal of a school at which his sister, Malvina, was a teacher. Entering the territory by crossing the Missouri at St. Joseph, they came down to the west side of the river to Leavenworth, where they remained and investigated . Arthur signed the Pendleton Act, which banned salary kickbacks and required merit exams for any professional advancement. In the White House, Arthur became known for his sartorial style and taste for fine furnishings. The concept of a cigar-store Indian installed in the White House was finally a reassurance to the frightened American people. Chester A. Arthur served as America's twenty-first president from September 19, 1881, to March 4, 1885. [192] To rejuvenate his health outside the confines of Washington, Arthur and some political friends traveled to Florida in April 1883. In the presidential election later. Congress passes an act regarding civil government in Alaska. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him to the post of Collector of the Port of New York in 1871, and he was an important supporter of Conkling and the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party. [12] William graduated from college in Belfast and immigrated to the Province of Lower Canada in 1819 or 1820. [85] Sherman ordered a commission led by John Jay to investigate the New York Custom House. [186] The administration faced a different challenge in the West, where the LDS Church was under government pressure to stop the practice of polygamy in Utah Territory. [189] The allotment system was favored by liberal reformers at the time, but eventually proved detrimental to Native Americans as most of their land was resold at low prices to white speculators. [89] Arthur appointed a committee of Custom House workers to determine where the cuts were to be made and, after a written protest, carried them out. [111] They next approached Arthur, and Conkling advised him to also reject the nomination, believing the Republicans would lose. Owing to the shock of Garfield's assassination and eventual death, Americans all over had started to grow fed up of Roscoe Conkling's machine. [77] In total, his income came to more than $50,000more than the president's salary, and more than enough for him to enjoy fashionable clothes and a lavish lifestyle. Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution establishes the Executive Branch read more, The Republican William Howard Taft worked as a judge in Ohio Superior Court and in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals before accepting a post as the first civilian governor of the Philippines in 1900. [53] Arthur received plaudits for his work, but his post was a political appointment, and he was relieved of his militia duties in January 1863 when Governor Horatio Seymour, a Democrat, took office. The Democratic National Convention meets in Chicago, nominating Grover Cleveland and Thomas A. Hendricks for President and vice president, respectively. 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. Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 - November 18, 1886) was a politician of the United States who served as the twenty-first President. [106] Arthur felt devastated, and perhaps guilty, and never remarried. [122] The running mates, never close, detached as Garfield continued to freeze out the Stalwarts from his patronage. Still, the crowd of people who showed up for the event were unaware, and the President received a spectacular welcome. [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. He will be convicted on January 25, 1882, and executed on June 30, 1882. "[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. [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. [35] One of his first teachers said Arthur was a boy "frank and open in manners and genial in disposition. Chester A. Arthur (b. October 5, 1829, in Fairfield, Vermont) was the 21st president of the United States. 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. Chester A. Arthur: Impact and Legacy By Justus Doenecke Historians view the Chester Arthur presidency as an important surprise, one that no one would have expected. 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). He served as quartermaster general of the New York Militia during the American Civil War. [169] The bill passed the Senate and House by overwhelming margins, but this as well was vetoed by Arthur, who concluded the 20-year ban to be a breach of the renegotiated treaty of 1880. [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. 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. Arthurs administration also fought fraud in the U.S. [148], Garfield's assassination by a deranged office seeker amplified the public demand for civil service reform. The United States and Mexico conclude a convention on their shared territorial boundary. Elected vice president on the Republican ticket of 1880, Arthur acceded to the presidency upon the assassination of . Activity. His father, William Arthur, had immigrated to America from northern Ireland when he was 18 and had become a Baptist minister. 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. Windup Teacher. Although he still objected to this denial of entry to Chinese laborers, Arthur acceded to the compromise measure, signing the Chinese Exclusion Act into law on May 6, 1882. A skilled fisherman Arthur urged Congress to increase funding for Native American education, which it did in 1884, although not to the extent he wished. [162] Blaine did not remain in office long enough to see the effort through, and when Frederick T. Frelinghuysen replaced him at the end of 1881, the conference efforts lapsed. "[221] As 2004 biographer Zachary Karabell wrote, although Arthur was "physically stretched and emotionally strained, he strove to do what was right for the country. [136] On September 22, he re-took the oath of office, this time before Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite. biography Chester Alan Arthur was born in the village of Fairfield, Vt., Oct. 5, 1829. [166] To their surprise, Arthur vetoed it and requested revisions, which they made and Arthur then approved. "[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. Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 - November 18, 1886) was the fourth Totally Obscure President of the United States, serving from 1881 through 1885. September 19, 1881 James Garfield dies He withdrew troops from the Reconstruction states in order to restore local control and good will, a decision that many perceived read more, Ulysses Grant (1822-1885) commanded the victorious Union army during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and served as the 18th U.S. president from 1869 to 1877. The event commemorated the 223rd anniversary of the College's charter, the first granted to a college by the Board of Regents of the State of New York. [140][n] Attorney General Wayne MacVeagh was next to resign, believing that, as a reformer, he had no place in an Arthur cabinet. [189] He also favored a move to the allotment system, under which individual Native Americans, rather than tribes, would own land. [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. 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. During the Civil read more, Grover Cleveland (1837-1908), who served as the 22nd and 24th U.S. president, was known as a political reformer. [160] Republicans considered the law a success at the time, but later concluded that it contributed to their loss of seats in the elections of 1882. $1.25. [173] Garfield's Secretary of the Navy, William H. Hunt advocated reform of the Navy. The son of a Baptist preacher who had emigrated from northern Ireland, Arthur was born on October 5, 1829 in Fairfield, Vermont. Chester Arthur (1829-1886), the 21st U.S. president, took office after the death of President James Garfield (1831-1881). Chester Arthur was selected as his running mate. [146] Although Arthur had worked closely with Dorsey before his presidency, once in office he supported the investigation and forced the resignation of officials suspected in the scandal. On his grave marker, his birth year is incorrectly given as 1830. For his son, see. [142] Blaine, nemesis of the Stalwart faction, remained Secretary of State until Congress reconvened and then departed immediately. Ten fun facts about Chester A. Arthur. [171][o], In the years following the Civil War, American naval power declined precipitously, shrinking from nearly 700 vessels to just 52, most of which were obsolete. 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. [152] Even after he signed the act into law, its proponents doubted Arthur's commitment to reform. [88] Sherman was less enthusiastic about the reforms than Hayes and Jay, but he approved the commission's report and ordered Arthur to make the personnel reductions. He proclaimed to onlookers: "I am a Stalwart, and Arthur will be President! [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. [67] The opposing Democratic machine in New York City, known as Tammany Hall, worked for Grant's opponent, former New York Governor Horatio Seymour; while Grant was victorious in the national vote, Seymour narrowly carried the state of New York. The Washington Monument is dedicated in Washington, D.C. Congress passes an act prohibiting the fencing of public lands in the west. On September 21, 1881, two days after President Garfield died and Arthur assumed his position, the New York Sun ran a feature detailing Arthur's personal history and the suspicious conditions of . His job involved supervising 1,300 people. Chester A. Arthur's four-year presidency is often overlooked by historians. [48] The couple had three children: After his marriage, Arthur devoted his efforts to building his law practice, but also found time to engage in Republican party politics. [143] Conkling expected Arthur to appoint him in Blaine's place, but the President chose Frederick T. 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