Dignified, tall, and handsome, with clean-shaven chin and side-whiskers, Chester Alan Arthur "looked like a President."

Honorable in his personal life and his public career, Arthur nevertheless was a firm believer in the spoils system while serving as Collector of the New York Custom House. He insisted upon honest administration of the Customs House, but staffed it with more employees than it needed, retaining them for their merit as party workers rather than as government officials. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes, attempting to reform the Customs House, ousted Arthur. Senator Roscoe Conkling and his followers tried to win redress by fighting for the renomination of Ulysses Grant at the 1880 Republican Convention. Failing, they reluctantly accepted the nomination of Arthur for the Vice Presidency.

Chronology of His Life and Career

October 5, 1829		Born in Fairfield, Vermont.
1848		Graduated from Union College.
1854		Became a partner in a New York City law firm.
1855		Won a case that established the right of blacks to ride on any streetcar in New York City.
1859		Named New York State Engineer-in-Chief.
October 25, 1859		Married Ellen Lewis Herndon.
1862		Named Quartermaster General of the State of New York.
1871		Named Collector of the New York Custom House.
January 21, 1880		Mrs. Ellen Arthur died.
1880		Elected Vice-President of the United States.
September 20, 1881		Sworn in as the 21st President of the United States.
1882		Learned that he was dying of Bright's Disease.
November 18, 1886		Died in New York City.

See Also

President Rutherford B. Hayes
Ulysses Grant

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This page was last updated on October 05, 2018.