When Charles Guiteau was being hauled away after shooting President James Garfield, he loudly exclaimed "I am a Stalwart! Arthur is President now!" While those words may not mean much to political observers today, in 1881 would have represented a very real divide in the Republican Party. Indeed, Chester A. Arthur was a Stalwart. And he was, in fact, President now. Chester A. Arthur, in many ways, represented all that was wrong with American politics in the late 1800s. The era, known as the "Gilded Age", was characterized by the ruthless pursuit of wealth, the centralization of power into the hands of Robber Barons, and most importantly, political corruption. During the Gilded Age, government, both state and federal, was controlled by a few powerful political machines. These machines were organizations that sought to control politics through winning votes and awarding supporters with cushy, high paying government jobs. It wasn't so much the Governor or President that appointed tax collectors, chairmen, and postmasters, as it was the political bosses that had ensured their election in the first place. Every major city, and indeed the federal government, was packed with corrupt, incompetent party loyalist who had their jobs and their large salary because they were willing to extort money, accept bribes, win votes, and sign contracts all in favor of the party machine's preferred candidate. One such party hack was Chester Alan Arthur. Arthur liked to live the good life. He ate well, he dressed well, and he lived comfortably in Gilded Age New York. A lawyer by trade, Arthur had worked his way up the political ladder by proving to be a loyal servant of the New York Republican machine controlled by Senator Roscoe Conkling. By the 1870s, Arthur found himself Chief Collector of the Port of New York. Whoever controlled the Port of New York controlled the flow of money into the city. Whoever controlled the flow of money ensured that a portion of it would make it's way to the pockets of machine politicians. Chester A. Arthur had reached the pinnacle of machine politics and made sure that his party reaped the benefits of all the "honest graft" that came with it. Of course, not everyone was OK with the political climate of the day. Many political leaders, in both parties, sought to clean up the system. A national movement began that called for Civil Service Reform. Government jobs, the advocates claimed, should be awarded on the basis of merit, rather than political loyalty. While this might seem like an obvious point of view today, in the 1800s it became a defining issue for the Republican Party. Those in favor of reform were known as Half-Breeds, while the traditional machine politicians who resisted reform were known as Stalwarts. This schism in the GOP came to a head when the reform-minded President Hayes fired the Stalwart Arthur from his post at the New York Customs house in 1878. Whether the Republican Party would embrace the modest reform started by Hayes or return to the Stalwart favored spoils-system was the most pressing issue of the Republican Convention in 1880. In 1880, President Hayes decided not to seek reelection. The Republican Party, who had controlled the White House for much of the past 20 years, didn't want to let their internal disagreements lead to electoral losses in November. The decision was made to put forth a compromise ticket. The Presidential nominee would be the well-liked reform-minded Congressman from Ohio, James A. Garfield. The Vice-Presidential nominee would be none other than the Stalwart of all Stalwarts, Chester A. Arthur. It is worth noting that Arthur had never been elected to any office in his entire life to this point. His selection was clearly to make sure that the Stalwarts had a voice, however quiet, in the new administration. In November, the Republicans won an extremely close race. James Garfield was the new Commander-in-Cheif and Chester A. Arthur was now a heartbeat away from the presidency. In September, 1881, only 7 months into his presidency, James Garfield died as a result of a gunshot wound he had received 2 months earlier. Arthur took the oath of office in New York and became the 21st President of the United States. The assassin, Charles Guiteau claimed he shot the President because Garfield had refused to give him a political appointment as a reward for his support in the campaign. In truth, Guiteau was a deranged individual with sociological and psychological problems. However, the headlines that Garfield, who fought for reform, was gunned down by a disgruntled office seeker convinced many Americans that politics had become to corrupt and civil service reform was necessary.
It would have been easy for Arthur to quiet the calls for change. After all, everything he had achieved in the his political career was thanks to the spoils-system. He was a the beneficiary of corruption and graft. The Stalwart way of doing things had brought him wealth and power. However, a career spent as part of a political machine no doubt gave him unique insight into the reality of Gilded Age politics. To the surprise of many, President Arthur, a product of the old system, signed into law the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. Modest by today's standards, the law required that some government jobs be awarded on the basis of merit. Applicants would take exams to prove they were capable of fulfilling the responsibilities of the office. The law only applied to 10% of the federal workforce, but it was the first piece of meaningful civil service reform. Over the remaining 3 years in the White House, Arthur accomplished very little. Other than advocating for the modernization of the navy, there is very little one can point to as a a success. Not particularly popular with voters in his day, Arthur did not seek the Republican nomination in 1884. He returned home to his New York law firm and died a few years later. Chester A. Arthur was not a successful President. However, for his support of civil service reform, whether done out of pragmatism or a change of heart, our 21st president deserves credit.
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