But when Arthur succeeded to the Presidency, he was eager to prove himself above machine politics.Īvoiding old political friends, he became a man of fashion in his garb and associates, and often was seen with the elite of Washington, New York, and Newport. Failing, they reluctantly accepted the nomination of Arthur for the Vice Presidency.ĭuring his brief tenure as Vice President, Arthur stood firmly beside Conkling in his patronage struggle against President Garfield. Conkling and his followers tried to win redress by fighting for the renomination of Grant at the 1880 Republican Convention. In 1878 President Hayes, attempting to reform the Customs House, ousted Arthur. He insisted upon honest administration of the Customs House, but staffed it with more employees than it needed, retaining them for their merit as party workers rather than as Government officials. Honorable in his personal life and his public career, Arthur nevertheless was a firm believer in the spoils system when it was coming under vehement attack from reformers. Arthur effectively marshalled the thousand Customs House employees under his supervision on behalf of Roscoe Conkling’s Stalwart Republican machine. President Grant in 1871 appointed him Collector of the Port of New York. Early in the Civil War he served as Quartermaster General of the State of New York. He was graduated from Union College in 1848, taught school, was admitted to the bar, and practiced law in New York City. The son of a Baptist preacher who had emigrated from northern Ireland, Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont, in 1829. Arthur was America’s 21st President (1881-85), succeeding President James Garfield upon his assassination.ĭignified, tall, and handsome, with clean-shaven chin and side-whiskers, Chester A. The son of a Baptist preacher who had emigrated from northern Ireland, Chester A. The biography for President Arthur and past presidents is courtesy of the White House Historical Association.
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