POTUS #21 Chester Alan Arthur was born on this day in 1829. Chet Arthur I believe is one of the most underrated POTUS in American history. He has never been given his due.

Ten Notes On President Chester Alan Arthur

1. Chester Alan Arthur was the Vice-President for President James Garfield. Garfield’s presidency only lasted 200 days, he was struck down by an assassin’s bullet. Garfield was shot on July 2nd 1882 and died on September 19th, 1881. When news of Garfield’s death broke, supposedly a Republican friend of Arthur’s exclaimed “Chet Arthur? President of the United States? Good God!” Arthur was 51 years old when he became POTUS. Arthur before running with Garfield had never run for any office. There has probably no POTUS who desired to be POTUS less than Arthur, who enjoyed being POTUS less than Arthur. They said in the months when Garfield lingered between life and death that Arthur was miserable. He didn’t want to be POTUS. He was a competent, honorable man. Not a great POTUS by any means but he did the best he could in a difficult situation.

2. Chet Arthur was a Republican  machine politician from New York. When he became president he shocked those who knew him by being a embracing civil service reform. The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act was the centerpiece of his administration.  Arthur’s great quote on being president is “Since I came here I have learned that Chester A. Arthur is one man and the President of the United States is another.” He came into the presidency mistrusted, he left very much respected.

3. I would think if there were a Mt. Rushmore of neglected, underappreciated Presidents, Arthur would have a spot there. Maybe it is because he never won election to the presidency on his own. Maybe some of it has to do with his reputation before he became president. Clearly, the politician he was before he became president and the one he was as president were two different men.

4. In his time as President Arthur was able to name two Justices to the Supreme Court. In the second opening he first nominated his old political boss from New York City, Roscoe Conkling. He didn’t think Conkling would accept but he felt he should nominate him. Conkling was confirmed by the US Senate but declined the nomination. Conkling is the last person to be confirmed but decline an appointment to the US Supreme Court.

5. Chester Alan Arthur’s had serious health issues for most of his presidency. In August of 1882 he was diagnosed with Bright’s Disease, his health would deteriorate rapidly. When the 1884 presidential election season rolls around he didn’t press very hard for a second term. The fact that he had Bright’s Disease was kept a secret. He would die of Bright’s Disease in 1886. Bright’s Disease is a kidney disease. He was only 57 years old.

6. The most favourable quote I’ve read about the Arthur presidency comes from Mark Twain, who was not known for kind words directed towards politicians. “I am but one in fifty-five million. Still in the opinion of this one-fifty-five-millionth of the country’s population, it would be hard to better President Arthur’s administration.”

7. Obama has had his ‘birther’ controversy and so did Chet Arthur. He was born in Fairfield, Vermont. There were rumours that he was born in Canada but these charges were unproven. Someone even made the claim that he was born in Ireland. Arthur as an adult stood 6’2″ black eyes, brown hair.

8. The word that seems to be used all the time in describing Chester Alan Arthur was “Dandy” He  spent lavishly on clothes and liked the night life in New York City. It was said that he owned eighty pairs of pants and changed several times during a day. He and his wife Ellen were known for throwing parties at their NYC house. Chet Arthur was a fancy lad. He was very stylish. The Jackie O of his time. One of his nicknames was “The Dude President’

9. Chet Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont on October 5th,1828. He became a lawyer. His father was an abolitionist and when the Civil War came along Arthur joined up, raising to the rank of brigadier general. He would be a loyal soldier also to Roscoe Conkling the NYC Republican boss. In 1871 he was named collector of customs of New York. This was a big job in NYC at that time.

10. Chet Arthur was married to Ellen Herndon. They had two children who lived to be adults. Sadly, Ellen Arthur died at the age of 42 of pneumonia before her husband became Vice President.