10/5/1829 – 11/18/1886
Party: Republican
Timeline; 1881-1885
#21 Chester A. Arthur- The Unexpected Reformer
Arthur spent his early career as an attorney and in politics. During the Civil War, he served as Engineer-in-Chief (1861-1863), Inspector General (1862) and Quartermaster General (1862-1863) in the New York Militia. After the war he devoted more time to politics, holding positions such as Collector of the Port of New York (1871-1878), Chairman of the New York State Republican Executive Committee (1879-1881), and Vice President (1881).
1881;
- Following Garfield’s death, Arthur becomes the 21st President of the United States at the age of 51.
- Trial for Garfield’s assassin, Guiteau begins
1882;
- Congress passes bill mandating the use of the census to determine representation. The move increases the number of reps to 325
- The Star-Route Scandal trial begins where nine men are to be indicted for defrauding the government in a postal scam
- Senate ratifies the Geneva Convention of 1864
- Congress passes Edmund’s Act which excludes bigamists and polygamists from voting or holding office.
- Chinese Exclusion Act vetoed, then revised
- Arthur appoints a tariff commission to recommend tariff reductions
- Steamboat Safety Bill vetoed
- River and Harbor Act vetoed
- Star-Route scandal concludes with 2 of the 9 found guilty. A retrial for December is set when the jury foreman says a government agent tried to bribe him.
1883;
- Congress passes the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
- Mongrel Tariff Act passes
- Arthur signs bill appropriating funds for the Navy’s first steel vessels.
- Brooklyn Bridge opens; the construction project took 13 years and $15 million to complete. It is estimated that over 20 men died in this project
- Second Star-Route case concludes, all nine men are found not guilty
- U.S.-Luxembourg Treaty is concluded
1884;
- U.S. participates in an international conference establishing standard time
- Congress passes bill repealing the 1862 test oath, which required office holders to swear they never displayed any illegal or disloyal conduct.
- Bureau of Labor established
- Arthur issues a proclamation warning people not to settle on Oklahoma lands
- France presents the United States with the Statue of Liberty at a ceremony in Paris
STATUE OF LIBERTY BEING BUILT IN PARIS
1885;
- Washington Monument is dedicated in Washington D.C.
WASHINGTON MONUMENT CONSTRUCTION
- Congress passes act prohibiting the fencing of public lands in the west
- Former President Grant is laid to rest in New York City, NY
GRANT’S TOMB
- Contract Labor Law passes which is meant to ban companies from importing immigrant workers to break strikes and drive down wages.
Arthur was unknown before being elected, but surprised people by being honest and responsible. He helped create the Civil Service and as a lawyer, he defended a black woman who had been abused on a streetcar. He won the case, which led the streetcar companies to integrate.
Arthur was asked to run for Senate after his Presidency but refused, retiring to his home in New York to work on his law firm but his health started to deteriorate and he died a year later.
Famous quotes;
“I may be president of the United States, but my private life is nobody’s damned business.”
“Men may die, but the fabrics of free institutions remains unshaken.”
“The extravagant expenditure of public money is an evil not to be measured by the value of that money to the people who are taxed for it.”