21. CHESTER A. ARTHUR (1881-1885)

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OVERVIEW:

FULL NAME:
Chester Alan Arthur

BORN:
October 5, 1829;
Fairfield, Vermont

DIED:
November 18, 1886 (age 57)
New York, NY

EDUCATION:
Union College (1848)

POLITICAL PARTY:
Republican (1854–1886)
Whig (before 1854)

HIGHLIGHTS: 
1851:
Became Principal of an Academy in North Pownal, Vermont
1854:
Admitted to the Bar,
Began Practicing Law in New York City
1861-1862:
Acting Quarter Master General of State Militia
Quarter Master General
1871-1878:
Collector of the Port of New York
1879-1881:
Chairman, New York State Republican Executive Committee
3/4/1881-9/19/1881:
Vice President of the United States
9/19/1881-3/4/1885:
21st President of the United States

SPOUSE/ ACTING FIRST LADY:

ELLEN ARTHUR (WIFE)
MARY ARTHUR MCELROY (SISTER/ ACTING FIRST LADY)

RESOURCES:

Chester A. Arthur eating lunch with a friend in 1897 (Library of Congress)

BIOGRAPHIES:
The White House
Biographical Directory of Congress
Senate Historical Office
UVA Miller Center
American Presidents (C-SPAN)
Wikipedia 

PAPERS: 
Library of Congress 
American Presidency Project (UCSB)
State Papers of Chester Arthur

RECOMMENDED BOOKS:

GENTLEMAN BOSS by Thomas C. Reeves
THE UNEXPECTED PRESIDENT by Scott Greenberger

1881 OATH OF OFFICE:

Justice John R. Brady, Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, administering the oath of office to Vice President Arthur in a private ceremony in Arthur’s residence at 123 Lexington Avenue, New York . The oath was administered at around 2:10 a..m on September 20, 1881. (Library of Congress)

Address Upon Assuming the Office of President
Library of Congress
New York Times
Wikipedia

ARTHUR ADMINISTRATION:

An 1881 cartoon from Puck magazine depicting the members of the late President James A. Garfield’s cabinet looking at Chester Arthur. On the wall in the background are four frames with three portraits and a question mark. The portraits are labeled “First Failure – Tyler, Second Failure – Fillmore, [and] Third Failure – Johnson. (Artist: Joseph Keppler/ Library of Congress Collection)
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR:
Samuel J. Kirkwood (1881–1882)
Henry M. Teller (1882–1885)

ATTORNEY GENERAL:
Isaac Wayne MacVeagh (1881)
Benjamin H. Brewster (1882–1885)

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY:
William H. Hunt (1881–1882)
William E. Chandler (1882–1885)

POSTMASTER GENERAL
Thomas L. James (1881)
Timothy O. Howe (1881–1883)
Walter Q. Gresham (1883–1884)
Frank Hatton (1884–1885)

SECRETARY OF STATE:
James G. Blaine (1881)
Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (1881–1885)

SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY:
William Windom (1881)
Charles J. Folger (1881–1884)
Walter Q. Gresham (1884)
Hugh McCulloch (1884–1885)

SECRETARY OF WAR:
Robert Todd Lincoln (1881–1885)

SUPREME COURT NOMINEES:

The Supreme Court in late 1882. Seated, from left: Justices Joseph P. Bradley and Samuel F. Miller, Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite, and Justices Stephen J. Field and Stanley Matthews; standing, from left: Justices William B. Woods, Horace Gray, John Marshall Harlan, and Samuel Blatchford. (Photo Credit: C. M. [Charles Milton] Bell, U.S.Supreme Court Collection).
Horace Gray (1882-1902)
Roscoe Conkling (declined to serve after confirmation)
Samuel M. Blatchford (1882-1893)

CONGRESS:

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE:
Joseph W. Keifer (1881-1883)
John G. Carlisle (1883-1889)

HISTORIC SITES:

The Chester A. Arthur Home at 123 Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.Then  Vice President Arthur was sworn into office here on September 20, 1881, after the death of President James Garfield. The first two floors are currently commercial space, and the upper three floors are private apartments. (Wikimedia/ Public Domain).

Chester A. Arthur House (New York) 
President Chester Arthur Historic Site (Vermont)

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