Who is 21st president of us

In , he signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which banned kickbacks in the civil service system and made merit, and not patronage, the basis for promotion and pay.

Arthur also wanted lower tariffs and less patronage because he thought the huge government budget surpluses in the s should be lowered, through lower tax rates and money returned to taxpayers.

Publicly, Arthur had a reputation for dressing well, eating well, and enjoying the finer things in life. He also convinced Congress to pay for much-needed White House renovations. On November 19, , former President Arthur passed away in New York City, surrounded by his family at the age of George A.

Toggle navigation. Sign up for our email newsletter. Chester Arthur , the 21st U. As president from to , Arthur advocated for civil service reform. In , an era of political machines and patronage, Arthur was named to the powerful position of customs collector for the Port of New York. He later was removed from the job by President Rutherford Hayes in an attempt to reform the spoils system. Elected to the vice presidency in , Arthur became president after Garfield died following an assassination attempt by a disgruntled job seeker.

While in office, Arthur rose above partisanship and in signed the Pendleton Act, which required government jobs to be distributed based on merit.

Suffering from poor health, he did not run for reelection in The couple had two children who survived to adulthood: Chester Arthur Jr. Nell Arthur died of pneumonia at age 42, less than two years before her husband became president. Chester Arthur began his legal career in New York City and as a young attorney won several high-profile civil rights cases.

In , he successfully represented Elizabeth Jennings Graham , a black woman who had been denied a seat on a Manhattan streetcar due to her race. The case helped lead to the desegregation of public transportation in New York City. Arthur was also involved in the so-called Lemmon slave case, in which the New York Supreme Court ruled in that slaves being transferred to a slave state through New York would be freed.

During this time, Arthur joined the Republican Party, which was established by anti-slavery activists in Arthur became a member of the New York State Militia in the late s, although he never saw combat.

During the American Civil War , he was quartermaster for the state of New York, responsible for organizing food and supplies for Union soldiers. In an era of political machines and the patronage system of political appointments, Republican political boss Roscoe Conkling , a U. After Rutherford Hayes became president, he ousted Arthur from the job in in an attempt to reform the New York Custom House and spoils system.

On the 36th ballot, James Garfield, a Civil War general and congressman from Ohio , was chosen as the compromise candidate. Chester Arthur was selected as his running mate. In the general election, Garfield and Arthur defeated Democratic nominee Winfield Hancock and his running mate William English , and were sworn into office on March 4, Less than four months later, on July 2, Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau , a mentally unstable, disgruntled political job seeker, at a train station in Washington , D.

Although Garfield initially survived the shooting, he battled infections and died two months later, at age 49, on September In the early hours of September 20, Arthur was sworn in as president at his Manhattan brownstone at Lexington Avenue by a New York state judge. Two days later, in Washington, D. Share this page Follow Ballotpedia. What's on your ballot? Jump to: navigation , search. This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

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