Chester A. Arthur Timeline

After the deadlocked 1880 Republican convention nominated James A. Garfield, delegates chose Arthur as vice presidential candidate to balance the ticket with a Stalwart. The Garfield-Arthur ticket won the general election that November.

Image source: 1880 Republican National Convention

Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as vice president under President James A. Garfield. As vice president, he presided over the Senate but held little formal power, and his close ties to the Conkling machine raised concerns about his influence.

Charles J. Guiteau, a disgruntled office-seeker who had identified with the Stalwarts, shot President Garfield at a Washington railroad station. Garfield lingered for months while Arthur faced an unprecedented and delicate transition period.

Image source: Assassination of James A. Garfield

Arthur's administration prosecuted the Star Route scandal, in which postal officials had taken bribes to award lucrative mail delivery contracts. The prosecutions, pursued vigorously by his administration, demonstrated a commitment to cleaning up corruption.

Image source: Star Route scandal

Contrary to expectations, Arthur distanced himself from Roscoe Conkling and the Stalwarts, championing merit-based federal hiring. His surprising support for reform became the defining theme of his presidency.

President Garfield died from his wounds on September 19, 1881. Arthur took the oath of office at his New York home on September 20, administered by Justice John R. Brady, and again in Washington two days later, becoming the 21st president.

Image source: Presidency of Chester A. Arthur

Arthur and his secretaries of the Navy began replacing the aging Civil War-era fleet with modern steel warships, including the cruisers Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, and Dolphin. This program laid the groundwork for the modern American Navy.

Arthur signed the Edmunds Act, which disenfranchised polygamists, barred them from public office and jury service, and strengthened federal enforcement against plural marriage in Utah Territory, advancing the campaign against Mormon polygamy.

Image source: Edmunds Act

Arthur vetoed an early version of the Chinese Exclusion Act as a violation of the Burlingame Treaty, but Congress passed a stricter 20-year exclusion bill. Arthur signed a compromise ten-year exclusion law on May 6, 1882, marking the first major restriction on immigration to the United States.

Arthur vetoed a rivers and harbors bill he considered wasteful pork-barrel spending, but Congress overrode his veto. The episode highlighted growing tensions between presidential restraint and congressional spending priorities.

Arthur signed the Immigration Act of 1882, which imposed a fifty-cent head tax on immigrants and barred entry to convicts, lunatics, and those likely to become public charges, expanding federal authority over immigration.

Arthur signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, requiring merit-based examinations for many federal jobs and creating the Civil Service Commission. The law marked the beginning of the end of the spoils system in American government.

Arthur called for tariff reform, arguing high tariffs created unwarranted surpluses, but Congress produced a modest revision that made only slight reductions. The so-called Mongrel Tariff left the contentious tariff issue unresolved for future administrations.

Arthur secretly suffered from Bright's disease, a kidney ailment, and underwent surgery in 1883. His illness, concealed from the public, affected his energy and contributed to his decision not to actively seek renomination in 1884.

At the 1884 Republican convention, reform-minded Arthur lost the presidential nomination to James G. Blaine on the fourth ballot. Arthur's break with the party machine cost him the support he needed, and he left office in March 1885.

Image source: 1884 Republican National Convention

Although the Dawes Act was signed by Grover Cleveland, Arthur's administration laid groundwork for assimilationist Indian policy, supporting allotment of tribal lands to individual Native Americans. His administration also addressed Indian education and reform of the reservation system.

Image source: Dawes Act

Arthur handed the presidency to Grover Cleveland and retired to his home in New York City, resuming his law practice. His health continued to decline due to Bright's disease, limiting his public activity.

Chester A. Arthur died of a cerebral hemorrhage at his home at 123 Lexington Avenue, the same house where he had first taken the presidential oath. He was buried in Rural Cemetery in Albany, New York, beside his wife Ellen.

Over time, historians came to view Arthur more favorably, praising his unexpected embrace of civil service reform and his honest, competent administration. Once derided as a machine politician, Arthur is now often ranked as a surprisingly effective transitional president who helped modernize the federal government and the Navy.