Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur (b. October 5, 1829, in Fairfield, Vermont) was the 21st president of the United States. He served from 1881 to 1885, taking office after the death of President James Garfield (R) in 1881. Arthur was a member of the Republican Party. He had no vice president during his term in office.[1]
Arthur was elected vice president as Garfield's running mate in the 1880 election, and he ran unsuccessfully for the Republican Party's nomination in the 1884 election. During his presidency, Arthur signed the Pendleton Civil Service Act in 1883, which reformed the civil service and established the United States Civil Service Commission.[2]
Prior to the presidency, Arthur worked as a teacher, school principal, and attorney. He served as a member of the New York State Militia and was appointed quartermaster general in New York during the Civil War. President Ulysses S. Grant (R) appointed Arthur to serve as the New York port's customs collector in 1871. He was removed from the position in 1878 by President Rutherford B. Hayes (R), who alleged that Arthur engaged in patronage by giving government jobs to political allies.[3]
Arthur was unable to campaign actively in the 1884 race; in 1882, he was diagnosed with a terminal kidney illness, Bright’s disease, but did not make this information public. He was 57 when he died on November 18, 1886.[2]
Biography
Chester Alan Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont. His father, William Arthur, was a Baptist minister from Ireland. His mother, Malvina Stone Arthur, was from Vermont. Arthur earned a degree from Union College and later studied law at the State and National Law School.[3]
Arthur was married to Ellen “Nell” Lewis Herndon from 1859 to 1880, when she died of pneumonia. They had two children who reached adulthood, Chester Jr. and Ellen.[2]
Elections
1884 presidential election
In 1884, Arthur ran but was not re-nominated by the Republican Party. His replacement, James Blaine, was defeated by Grover Cleveland (Democrat) in the general election for the United States presidency.
| U.S. presidential election, 1884 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic |  Grover Cleveland/Thomas Hendricks |
48.9% | 4,914,482 | 219 | |
| Republican | James Blaine/John Logan | 48.3% | 4,856,903 | 182 | |
| Prohibition | John St. John/William Daniel | 1.5% | 150,890 | 0 | |
| Greenback | Benjamin Butler/Absolom West | 1.3% | 134,294 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 10,056,569 | 401 | |||
| Election results via: 1884 official election results | |||||
1880 presidential election
In 1880, Arthur was the vice presidential running mate of James Garfield (Republican), who defeated Winfield S. Hancock (Democrat) and James Weaver (Greenback) in the general election for the United States presidency.
| U.S. presidential election, 1880 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | James Garfield/Chester Arthur |
48.4% | 4,454,416 | 214 | |
| Democratic | Winfield S. Hancock/William Hayden English | 48.3% | 4,444,952 | 155 | |
| Greenback | James Weaver/Barzillai J. Chambers | 3.4% | 308,578 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 9,207,946 | 369 | |||
| Election results via: 1880 official election results | |||||
State of the Union addresses
Every year in office, the president of the United States addresses Congress on the present state of affairs as well as the administration's goals for the coming year.[4] Following are transcripts from Arthur's State of the Union addresses.
See also
External links
- Presidential Library and Museum website
- Official White House biography
- C-Span video on the Hoover presidency
Footnotes
- ↑ Until the passage of the 25th amendment in 1967, no mechanism existed to fill a vacancy of the office of Vice President.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 History, "U.S. Presidents Chester A. Arthur," accessed December 5, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 White House, "21. Chester A. Arthur," accessed December 5, 2018
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The President’s State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications," January 24, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Garfield (R) |
President of the United States 1881-1885 |
Succeeded by Grover Cleveland (D) |
| |||||||
