He achieved prominence as a politician and as president of the United States. "[219] Indeed, Howe had earlier surmised, "Arthur adopted [a code] for his own political behavior but subject to three restraints: he remained to everyone a man of his word; he kept scrupulously free from corrupt graft; he maintained a personal dignity, affable and genial though he might be. [58] They also had a daughter, Ellen, in 1871. [175] He gave full authority to his new Secretary of Navy William E. Chandler, Hunt's successor. [46] Later that year, he started a new law partnership with a friend, Henry D. Gardiner, and traveled with him to Kansas to consider purchasing land and setting up a law practice there. [78] He got along with his subordinates and, since Murphy had already filled the staff with Conkling's adherents, he had few occasions to fire anyone. [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. Twenty-first President, 1881-1885. During Chester Arthurs childhood, his family moved around Vermont and upstate New York for his fathers work. Congress was unable to override the veto, but passed a new bill reducing the immigration ban to ten years. [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. [50] He was so efficient at housing and outfitting the troops that poured into New York City that he was promoted to inspector general of the state militia in March 1862, and then to quartermaster general that July. Congress passes the so-called Mongrel Tariff Act, a complex tariff revision that reduces rates on various items by less than 2 percent; Arthur had lobbied Congress for a 20 to 25 percent cut on all items. [146] An 1882 trial of the ringleaders resulted in convictions for two minor conspirators and a hung jury for the rest. "[112][j] Conkling eventually relented, and campaigned for the ticket. [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. [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. On September 21, he returned to Long Branch to take part in Garfield's funeral, and then joined the funeral train to Washington. [109], Garfield and his supporters knew they would face a difficult election without the support of the New York Stalwarts and decided to offer one of them the vice presidential nomination. His dad was the minister in Waterville and was building . [10] Arthur's mother, Malvina Stone was born in Berkshire, Vermont, the daughter of George Washington Stone and Judith Stevens. [152] To their surprise, he acted quickly to appoint the members of the Civil Service Commission that the law created, naming reformers Dorman Bridgman Eaton, John Milton Gregory, and Leroy D. Thoman as commissioners. [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. All Rights Reserved. [207] Arthur was buried with his family members and ancestors in the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York. In 1866, Arthur unsuccessfully attempted to secure the position of Naval Officer at the New York Custom House, a lucrative job subordinate only to the Collector. The son of an Irish-born Baptist minister who had immigrated to the U.S., Chester Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont, in 1829. Arthurs administration also fought fraud in the U.S. President Arthur signed the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, one of the most consequential pieces of immigration legislation in United States History. Employees were required to make political contributions (known as "assessments") back to the machine, which made the job a highly coveted political plum. According to a purported eyewitness account by journalist William C. Hudson, Conkling and Arthur argued, with Arthur telling Conkling, "The office of the Vice-President is a greater honor than I ever dreamed of attaining. [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. The bridge was an engineering marvel, utilizing numerous construction techniques that had never before been attempted on such a massive scale. Following the war, he devoted more time to New York Republican politics and quickly rose in Senator Roscoe Conkling's political organization. [209], Arthur's post-presidency was the second-shortest of all presidents who lived past their presidencies, after that of James K. Polk who died just three months after leaving office. France presents the United States with the Statue of Liberty at a ceremony held in Paris. In 1871, an era of political machines and patronage, Arthur was named to the powerful position of customs collector for the Port of New York. Chester A. Arthur, in full Chester Alan Arthur, (born October 5, 1829, North Fairfield, Vermont, U.S.died November 18, 1886, New York, New York), 21st president of the United States. In his first annual presidential address to Congress in 1881, Arthur requested civil service reform legislation and Pendleton again introduced his bill, but Congress did not pass it. "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 verdict in the Star-Route trial is rendered. [198] He played no role in the 1884 campaign, which Blaine would later blame for his loss that November to the Democratic nominee, Grover Cleveland.[199]. Congress passes the Edmunds Act, which excludes bigamists and polygamists from voting and holding office, and establishes a five-man Utah commission to supervise voting in the territory of Utah. "[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. [157], Congress attempted to balance the budget from the other side of the ledger, with increased spending on the 1882 Rivers and Harbors Act in the unprecedented amount of $19 million. 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! 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. They preferred the government spend more on internal improvements and reduce excise taxes. This was a very ironic situation, because the reason Guiteau assassinated . His first son died suddenly when he was only three years old. Chester Alan Arthur was diagnosed with kidney disease in 1982.. Later Life. 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. 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. [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. [108] Their opponents in the Republican party, known as Half-Breeds, concentrated their efforts on James G. Blaine, a senator from Maine who was more amenable to civil service reform. [163] Arthur and Frelinghuysen continued Blaine's efforts to encourage trade among the nations of the Western Hemisphere; a treaty with Mexico providing for reciprocal tariff reductions was signed in 1882 and approved by the Senate in 1884. 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. [122] The running mates, never close, detached as Garfield continued to freeze out the Stalwarts from his patronage. 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). [205] On November 22, a private funeral was held at the Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City, attended by President Cleveland and ex-President Hayes, among other notables. Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 - November 18, 1886) was a politician of the United States who served as the twenty-first President. Additionally, the Pendleton Act allowed for the establishment of a bipartisan Civil Service Commission to enforce the law. [14] They quickly moved from Burlington to Jericho, and finally to Waterville, as William received positions teaching at different schools. The Senate ratifies the Geneva Convention of 1864 for the care of wounded war personnel. The act establishes the Republicans as the party in favor of higher protective tariffs. The commission's recommendations were ignored, however, as the House Ways and Means Committee, dominated by protectionists, provided a 10% reduction. [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. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. [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. [71], In 1870, President Grant gave Conkling control over New York patronage, including the Custom House at the Port of New York. The first vacancy arose in July 1881 with the death of Associate Justice Nathan Clifford, a Democrat who had been a member of the Court since before the Civil War. [80] In that year, reform-minded Republicans formed the Liberal Republican party and voted against Grant, but he was re-elected in spite of their opposition. [176] Based on the suggestions in the report, Congress appropriated funds, signed into law by Arthur, for the construction of three steel protected cruisers (Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago) and an armed dispatch-steamer (Dolphin), collectively known as the ABCD Ships or the Squadron of Evolution. He was raised in New York. The number of Civil Service positions affected by the bill would later be expanded. President Arthur and New York Governor Grover Cleveland attend the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. Although Chester Arthur had risen to power through machine politics, once in the White House he surprised Americans (and alienated Conkling and other supporters) by moving past partisanship. [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. The Democratic National Convention meets in Chicago, nominating Grover Cleveland and Thomas A. 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