James Garfield dies from blood poisoning and complications after surgeons search endlessly to find the lost bullet in his back, lodged in his pancreas. When the Brooklyn Bridge opened, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world and one of the most revolutionary structures of the era. September 19, 1881 James Garfield dies [96], Arthur's job was spared only until July 1878, when Hayes took advantage of a Congressional recess to fire him and Cornell, replacing them with the recess appointment of Merritt and Silas W. [194] The Yellowstone trip was more beneficial to Arthur's health than his Florida excursion, and he returned to Washington refreshed after two months of travel. [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. 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. [188] The American Indian Wars were winding down, and public sentiment was shifting toward more favorable treatment of Native Americans. The United States participates in an international conference establishing standard time. [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. [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. [116] As Republicans had done since the end of the Civil War, Garfield and Arthur initially focused their campaign on the "bloody shirt"the idea that returning Democrats to office would undo the victory of the Civil War and reward secessionists. [187] In 1882, he signed the Edmunds Act into law; the legislation made polygamy a federal crime, barring polygamists both from public office and the right to vote. 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). [55], Arthur returned to practicing law, and with the help of additional contacts made in the military, he and the firm of Arthur & Gardiner flourished. He also oversaw the establishment of the Naval War College and the Office of Naval Intelligence. 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! Their dedication to corruption and injustice left an imprint on American politics. Born in Fairfield, Vermont, on October 5, 1829, Arthur was an educator, lawyer, and army officer before being appointed as customs collector of the Port of New York (1871-78). [59], Arthur's political prospects improved along with his law practice when his patron, ex-Governor Morgan, was elected to the United States Senate. [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. 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 [175] He gave full authority to his new Secretary of Navy William E. Chandler, Hunt's successor. Sometime around 1882, Arthur learned he was suffering from Brights disease, a serious kidney ailment. By the 1880s, this system had grown incredibly corrupt, and many were pressing for reform. 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. All rights reserved. $1.25. The concept of a cigar-store Indian installed in the White House was finally a reassurance to the frightened American people. [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. [77][h] Among those who dealt with the Custom House, Arthur was one of the era's more popular collectors. [152] The chief examiner, Silas W. Burt, was a long-time reformer who had been Arthur's opponent when the two men worked at the New York Custom House. Murphy was also a hatter who sold goods to the Union Army, and Arthur represented him in Washington. 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. In a special message to Congress, Arthur asks the legislature to appropriate funds for naval reconstruction work. For years, government jobs in the United States had been distributed via the spoils system. [120] The funds were crucial in the close election, and winning his home state of New York was critical. Chester Arthur was selected as his running mate. Arthur was president from 1881-1885, and his presidency was mostly unremarkable, except for a few major events. [193] The vacation had the opposite effect, and Arthur suffered from intense pain before returning to Washington. His Baptist minister father, William Arthur, hailed from Ireland, and his mother, Malvina Stone Arthur, was from Vermont. Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont, grew up in upstate New York and practiced law in New York City. [207] Arthur was buried with his family members and ancestors in the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York. [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. [134] Before leaving New York, he ensured the presidential line of succession by preparing and mailing to the White House a proclamation calling for a Senate special session. "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. In the early hours of September 20, Arthur was sworn in as president at his Manhattan brownstone at 123 Lexington Avenue by a New York state judge. By U.S. News Staff. Arthur's failing health and political temperament combined to make his administration less active than a modern presidency, yet he earned praise among contemporaries for his solid performance in office. [14] They married in Dunham on April 12, 1821, soon after meeting. 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. [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. Copyright 2022. 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). Arthur formally takes the oath of office in Washington, DC. After James Garfield was assassinated in 1881, Chester A. Arthur became President of the United States. [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. . Hallmarked Chester. 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. [107], Conkling and his fellow Stalwarts, including Arthur, wished to follow up their 1879 success at the 1880 Republican National Convention by securing the presidential nomination for their ally, ex-President Grant. Later that day, both personally congratulated Washington Roebling. [37], After graduating in 1848, Arthur returned to Schaghticoke and became a full-time teacher, and soon began to pursue an education in law. [132] Arthur was reluctant to be seen acting as president while Garfield lived, and for the next two months there was a void of authority in the executive office, with Garfield too weak to carry out his duties, and Arthur reluctant to assume them. 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. [153] The commission issued its first rules in May 1883; by 1884, half of all postal officials and three-quarters of the Customs Service jobs were to be awarded by merit. [140] Arthur then selected Charles J. Folger, his friend and fellow New York Stalwart as Windom's replacement. His father, William Arthur, had immigrated to the United States from northern Ireland when he was 18 and had become a Baptist minister. [158] On August 1, 1882, Arthur vetoed the bill to widespread popular acclaim;[158] in his veto message, his principal objection was that it appropriated funds for purposes "not for the common defense or general welfare, and which do not promote commerce among the States. [72] The Collector was responsible for hiring hundreds of workers to collect the tariffs due at the United States' busiest port. With great fanfare, the granite monument marking what was believed to have been the site of Chester A. Arthur's birth was dedicated in 1903 on land granted to the State of Vermont by Peter Bent Brigham Northrop. [66], Conkling succeeded to leadership of the conservative wing of New York's Republicans by 1868 as Morgan concentrated more time and effort on national politics, including serving as chairman of the Republican National Committee. He, along with many of those involved in the project, had contracted decompression sickness because of working in the caissons used to form the foundations of the bridge towers. Nine men are indicted for defrauding the government in a postal scam, an episode that becomes known as the Star-Route Scandal; the trial begins on June 1. [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. Chester Arthur (1829-1886), the 21st U.S. president, took office after the death of President James Garfield (1831-1881). Following the war, he devoted more time to New York Republican politics and quickly rose in Senator Roscoe Conkling's political organization. [115], As expected, the election was close. He asked the cabinet members to remain until December, when Congress would reconvene, but Treasury Secretary William Windom submitted his resignation in October to enter a Senate race in his home state of Minnesota. [15], In 1828, the family moved again, to Fairfield, where Chester Alan Arthur was born the following year; he was the fifth of nine children. In 1859, Arthur married Ellen Nell Lewis Herndon (1837-1880), the Virginia-born daughter of a U.S. naval officer. Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 - November 18, 1886) was an American politician who served as the twenty-first President of the United States.Arthur was a member of the Republican Party and worked as a lawyer before becoming the 20th vice president under James Garfield.While Garfield was mortally wounded by Charles Guiteau on July 2, 1881, he did not die until September 19, at which . A skilled fisherman [162] Blaine, venturing a greater involvement in affairs south of the Rio Grande, proposed a Pan-American conference in 1882 to discuss trade and an end to the War of the Pacific being fought by Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. [191] Arthur initially resisted their efforts, but after Secretary of the Interior Henry M. Teller, an opponent of allotment, assured him that the lands were not protected, Arthur opened up the Crow Creek Reservation in the Dakota Territory to settlers by executive order in 1885. It was an incredibly strict anti-immigration law that was designed to keep Chinese labor out of the American market. "[76], The Senate confirmed Arthur's appointment; as Collector he controlled nearly a thousand jobs and received compensation as great as any federal officeholder. [177][p] The contracts to build the ABCD ships were all awarded to the low bidder, John Roach & Sons of Chester, Pennsylvania,[179] even though Roach once employed Secretary Chandler as a lobbyist. Chester Arthur was born in North Fairfield, Vermont. Chester A. Arthur was born on October 5, 1829, in North Fairfield, Vermont. While in office, Arthur rose above partisanship and in 1883 signed the Pendleton Act, which required government jobs to be distributed based on merit. So too, as it turns out, is the New York City house in which Arthur was sworn in as president, and died just five . This lesson will examine the major events of Chester A. Arthur's presidency. [30] This claim, too, failed to gain credence. Although he campaigned for Garfield and helped get him elected, Arthur broke with Garfield after the election. Why Did Zachary Taylor Oppose the Compromise of 1850? Although Garfield initially survived the shooting, he battled infections and died two months later, at age 49, on September 19. 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 railwaysthe Southern Pacific, the Northern Pacific, and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa F. His mother, Malvina Stone Arthur, was born in New Hampshire. Facts about Chester A Arthur 2: in American civil war "[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. When he became an attorney, he had his law practice in New York City. These restraints distinguished him sharply from the stereotype politician. However, after President Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau, he passed away on September 19 in the year of 1881. Kaschig, Merit. He is the only president to date who served two non-consecutive terms, and also the only Democratic president to win election during the period of Republican read more, Departing from the monarchical tradition of Britain, the founding fathers of the United States created a system in which the American people had the power and responsibility to select their leader. [47] In 1859, they were married at Calvary Episcopal Church in Manhattan. [219] By 1935, historian George F. Howe said that Arthur had achieved "an obscurity in strange contrast to his significant part in American history. During Chester Arthurs childhood, his family moved around Vermont and upstate New York for his fathers work. [179] Democrats turned against the "New Navy" projects and, when they won control of the 48th Congress, refused to appropriate funds for seven more steel warships. Grover Cleveland is inaugurated as the twenty-second President of the United States. [131], More troubling was the lack of legal guidance on presidential succession: as Garfield lingered near death, no one was sure who, if anyone, could exercise presidential authority. 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. [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 the early 1850s, he served as the principal of schools in North Pownal, Vermont, and Cohoes, New York. [200] The Senate confirmed the nomination but, as expected, Conkling declined it,[200] the last time a confirmed nominee declined an appointment. 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