User:Orser67/Arthur
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The presidency of Chester A. Arthur began on September 19, 1881, after the the assassination of President James A. Garfield. His lone term in office ended on March 4, 1885. The 21st President of the United States, Arthur was a New York Republican. He was succeeded in office by Democrat Grover Cleveland, ending the twenty-four year Republican control of the presidency that had begun in 1861.
After just half a year as vice president, Arthur found himself in the executive mansion due to the assassination of his predecessor. 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. He also gained praise for his veto of a Rivers and Harbors Act that would have appropriated federal funds in a manner he thought excessive. He presided over the rebirth of the United States Navy, but was criticized for failing to alleviate the federal budget surplus, which had been accumulating since the end of the Civil War. Suffering from poor health, Arthur made only a limited effort to secure the Republican Party's nomination in 1884.
Journalist Alexander McClure later wrote, "No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted as Chester Alan Arthur, and no one ever retired ... more generally respected, alike by political friend and foe."[1] Although his failing health and political temperament combined to make his administration less active than a modern presidency, he earned praise among contemporaries for his solid performance in office. The New York World summed up Arthur's presidency at his death in 1886: "No duty was neglected in his administration, and no adventurous project alarmed the nation."[2] Mark Twain wrote of him, "[I]t would be hard indeed to better President Arthur's administration."[3]