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Chester Arthur

Chester A. Arthur
20 Chester Arthur 3x4.jpg
21st President of the United States
In office
September 19, 1881 – March 4, 1885
Vice President None
Preceded by James A. Garfield
Succeeded by Grover Cleveland
20th Vice President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881
President James A. Garfield
Preceded by William A. Wheeler
Succeeded by Thomas A. Hendricks
10th Chairman of the New York State Republican Executive Committee
In office
September 11, 1879 – October 11, 1881
Preceded by John F. Smyth
Succeeded by B. Platt Carpenter
21st Collector of the Port of New York
In office
December 1, 1871 – July 11, 1878
Appointed by Ulysses S. Grant
Preceded by Thomas Murphy
Succeeded by Edwin Atkins Merritt
Engineer-in-Chief of the New York Militia
In office
January 1, 1861 – January 1, 1863
Preceded by George F. Nesbitt
Succeeded by Isaac Vanderpoel
Inspector General of the New York Militia
In office
April 14, 1862 – July 12, 1862
Preceded by Marsena R. Patrick
Succeeded by Cuyler Van Vechten
Quartermaster General of the New York Militia
In office
July 27, 1862 – January 1, 1863
Preceded by Cuyler Van Vechten
Succeeded by Sebastian Visscher Talcott
Personal details
Born (1829-10-05)October 5, 1829
Fairfield, Vermont, U.S.
Died November 18, 1886(1886-11-18) (aged 57)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Resting place Albany Rural Cemetery
Menands, New York, U.S.
Political party Republican (1854–86)
Other political
affiliations
Whig (Before 1854)
Spouse(s) Ellen Herndon (m. 1859; d. 1880)
Children 3, including Chester II
Education
Profession
  • Lawyer
  • Civil servant
Religion Episcopal
Signature Cursive signature in ink
Military service
Allegiance
Service/branch New York (state) New York Militia
Years of service 1857–1863
Rank Union Army brigadier general rank insignia.svg Brigadier general
Unit Second Brigade, New York Militia
Staff of Governor Edwin D. Morgan
Battles/wars American Civil War
The Arthur Cabinet
Office Name Term
President Chester A. Arthur 1881–85
Vice President None 1881–85
Secretary of State James G. Blaine 1881
Frederick T. Frelinghuysen 1881–85
Secretary of Treasury William Windom 1881
Charles J. Folger 1881–84
Walter Q. Gresham 1884
Hugh McCulloch 1884–85
Secretary of War Robert T. Lincoln 1881–85
Attorney General Wayne MacVeagh 1881
Benjamin H. Brewster 1881–85
Postmaster General Thomas L. James 1881
Timothy O. Howe 1881–83
Walter Q. Gresham 1883–84
Frank Hatton 1884–85
Secretary of the Navy William H. Hunt 1881–82
William E. Chandler 1882–85
Secretary of the Interior Samuel J. Kirkwood 1881–82
Henry M. Teller 1882–85

Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 21st President of the United States (1881–85); he succeeded James A. Garfield upon the latter's assassination. At the outset, Arthur struggled to overcome a slightly negative reputation, which stemmed from his early career in politics as part of New York's Republican political machine. He succeeded by embracing the cause of civil service reform. His advocacy for, and subsequent enforcement of, the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act was the centerpiece of his administration.

Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont, grew up in upstate New York, and practiced law in New York City. He served as quartermaster general in the New York Militia during the American Civil War. Following the war, he devoted more time to Republican politics and quickly rose in the political machine run by New York Senator Roscoe Conkling. Appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant to the lucrative and politically powerful post of Collector of the Port of New York in 1871, Arthur was an important supporter of Conkling and the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party. In 1878, the new president, Rutherford B. Hayes, fired Arthur as part of a plan to reform the federal patronage system in New York. When Garfield won the Republican nomination for president in 1880, Arthur, an eastern Stalwart, was nominated for vice president to balance the ticket.


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