October is a busy month for president's birthdays! We've got six (a new record!), so you'll be hearing from us rather frequently. Rutherford Hayes's birthday was actually yesterday, however, we were at the football game and had to postpone celebrating. We're thinking we'll get to him on Thursday; today wasn't an option because it's another presidents birthday.
Chester Arthur!
Number 21, the guy remembered for his mutton chops (if at all)!
But you guys, Chester Arthur is actually pretty interesting. He's one of those guys going in that you think will be a huge snooze fest, but then you're like "hey, he's actually interesting!" Well, I mean, I guess you only say that if you're me, and you're studying presidents. For the common history class, he's mostly forgotten. No big wars, or huge legislation. But as I've learned with so many guys, even if a presidency is largely forgettable, the man can be fascinating. Have I excited you enough? Are you totally stoked to learn about Chester A. Arthur? Well, let's get to it.
Here's Chester, Chet, as his friends would call him. He was born on October 5, 1829 in North Fairfield Vermont. Anyone else know our other president from Vermont? (Answer: Calvin Coolidge!)
But, there's some conspiracy theorists that say he wasn't born in Vermont. It's not because the lines of a state hadn't been drawn yet, ala Andrew Jackson. We're look at more of a Barack Obama situation here. His dad, Reverend William Arthur was a traveling minister, and people say good old Chet was actually born in his father's home nation of Canada! (His mother, Malvina, however, was an American citizen). Anyway, Vermont native or Canadian, Chet was the fifth out of nine for the Arthur clan. (Forgive me on the accuracy here, some of my aliens seemed to have disappeared.)
Chet's teachers said Chet was a boy "frank and open in manners". Some today might call him head strong, other's might just call him a pompous jerk. But, you know, to each his own. Chet's whole life can kind of be summed up by a story one of his childhood friends often told:
When Chester was a boy, you might see him watching the other boys building a mud damn. Pretty soon, Chet would be ordering this one to bring stones, another sticks, and other's sod and mud to finish the dam. They would all do is bidding without question. But Chester would take great care never to get dirt on his hands.
During Chet's time at school, he became interested in politics, and he started supporting our good buddy, Henry Clay. (You guys! He even participated in a brawl against students who supported James Polk!)
Sidenote: You might not be able to read it, but his button says "Don't blame me, I voted for Henry Clay". Cafe press has a t-shirt like that, and I super want it for Christmas.
Chester went off to Union College in New York, where he was more interested in politics and extracurriculars than academics.
"The Dude President" (for real, that's a legit nickname for him), was quite the prankster and even dumped the college bell into the Erie Canal.
After graduation, Chet went on to become a teacher and a principal. (Fun fact: James Garfield taught penmanship at the very same school, though it was a few years later and the two never actually crossed paths).
Later, Chet decided to quit teaching and go to law school. (His grades weren't good enough for Yale or Harvard, and he went to some school which is now defunct).
After law school, Chet started working at a family friend's law firm. He joined in the abolishionists fight, and worked a case against a southern slave-owner who was pissed when his slaves were freed because he was traveling through New York (where slavery was not permitted) with him. Chet and his firm won the case.
He also helped Lizzy Jennings who was forcibly removed from a streetcar because of the color of her skin. Lizzy ended up with $225 in damages and the railway company had it's street cars desegregated as a result.
About this time, Chet met Ellen Lewis Herndon; Nell for short. Nell, was the daughter of a respected naval officer who had gone down with his ship. She was an accomplished singer, and had a taste for the finer things in life. Basically, she was a little on the snooty side. She probably sipped tea with her pinky finger out and shopped at Saks Fifth Avenue.
Nell and Chet had three kids (William died when he was three).
As an abolitionist, Chet went ahead and joined the newly formed Republican Party, because Millard Fillmore had pretty much ruined the Whigs, and Abe Lincoln was all the rage.
Speaking of Lincoln, we're now at the Civil War. Chet is one of 7 (or 8 depending on who you ask/ what actually counts) presidents who served in the military during the Civil War. He wasn't quite the Sam Grant of the war, he wasn't even a William McKinley. He never actually saw combat. Instead he was quartermaster for the state of New York and was responsible for organizing food and supplies for the Union Soldiers.
You'd think because of all this feeding the troops and fighting for civil rights, Chet was the most honest, sweetest, kindest fair guy.
But you'd be wrong. Chester Arthur was more of a sneaky, smiley super villain.
After the Civil War, the political conversation behind close doors was less about the two established parites, and more about the "political machines" that ran these parties. These machines picked candidates, they financially backed candidates. They basically bought and sold elections (see: Rutherford Hayes, and everyone on the TV show "Scandal")
They were the power behind the power, and New York had the biggest most controversial machine of all: The New York Custom House. Officially they collected tariff revenues on the majority of goods imported in to the United States. Unofficially: They pulled the strings of politics.
So where does good old Chet fit in with this?
To understand what kind of guy Chet was, you have to understand what America was like in the 1860's. The presidency was an obvious and showy position of power. Everyone saw the prestige inherent in it, and everyone knew how influential the president was. But some men (some dangerously ambitious men), saw a similar position that had a ton of power, but also received none of the scrutiny, and none of the checks and balances the president's faced.
Cue "The Collector", the person in charge at the New York Customs House.
And Cue, Chester Arthur.
You can google the collector if you'd like to know more. But, this dude basically invented the phrase "I say jump, and you ALL say how high". The Collector had lots of power and prestige, but very little accountability.
He made more money than the president, could hire (and fire!) whoever he wanted, and because he has so much campaign money, and a ton of potential campaign workers, presidential candidates were also fairly dependent on the Collector.
Of course, Chet wanted this job more than anything else in the world. Because, duh. (Remember that story of him from his childhood friends) So he did whatever it took to get there. He made the right friends, did errands for all the party bosses (many of which involved breaking the law), and he did it with a smile. Pick any random party boss from that time, who thanks to the watchful eye of history has been exposed as a corrupt tinkerer in the big political machine, and I promise you, you'll find a quote from that boss praising Chester Arthur.
Which eventually led to his dream job. Meet, Chester Arthur: The Collector. Did I mention it also came with gobs of money? Because it did.
Even though the New York Custom House was under investigation (for like a million counts of illegal activities), President Grant let Chester slide. He wasn't so great on the judging character thing, poor guy.
Nell was enjoying the cash flow. The Arthur's decorated their home in the latest fashions and Chet bought Nell jewelry and the kids elaborate, expensive toys. They threw elegant parties (Earning Chet his other nickname: Elegant Arthur), and entertained their 'important' friends.
This era is full of people like the Arthurs: rich entitled business men who kept the wealth for themselves. It's known as the 'Guilded Age' (a phrase coined by Mark Twain). The economy was booming, at least for the industrialists (who had gotten rich thanks to steel, oil, and steam).
They built massive homes, and threw gaudy parties. They went to expensive restaurants with menus hand-lettered in gold on satin pages, and swams paddling around a lake that encircled the tables. Chet was an indulgent New Yorker who could not refuse a department store charge account, or an overpriced meal.
Nell was fed up with her rich spoiled husband though. He wasn't home much, but when he was he was staying up late throwing bachelor style parties with his buddies.
All I can think is Real House Wives of the 1870's.
She thought about divorcing him. But, she'd never have the chance. She caught pneumonia waiting for her carriage after a benefit concert, and died two days later.
Making matter's worse for Chet, there was a new president in town, and Rutherford Hayes wasn't afraid of the possible repercussions of using his power to oust Chester Arthur as the Collector. Chester "retired" is disgrace among scandal and corruption.
Except, not exactly. Somehow, thanks to some shady back room whispers, and slimy handshakes, Chester Arthur wormed his way on to the Republican ticket for president in 1880. James Garfield was all set to pick his good buddy, but Chet, being the smooth talking charismatic (albeit slime ball) con man that he was got Garfield to agree to pick him. (It likely had something to do with the Stalwart Republicans and the Half-Bred Republicans each wanting to be represented on the ticket, but anywhoo...)
The Garfield/Arthur ticket won, and Chet had his newest dream job: Vice President.
Ok, so I know what you're thinking, who AIMS to be Vice President?
Chet Arthur does. That's who.
Chet didn't want the VP job to do good. He just wanted a position that commanded a great deal of respect, but required very little work. Unlike the nation's first VP, John Adams, who (spoiler alert) hated the job because it was a waste of time, and held no real responsibilities; Chet couldn't wait to have it. As soon as he got the job, he celebrated with a $726 new wardrobe from Brooks Brothers. Because, hey, you have to look good while you're busy doing nothing.
Chet had never held an elected office before, and it made people a little nervous. But, I mean, he's only the VP.. and what could go wrong?
Cue, Charles Guiteau, a gun, and a train station.
So crazy guy, Charles, shoots our 20th president and yells "I'm Stalwart of the Stalwarts" (you know that faction of the Republican party in which Arthur, not Garfield belongs) "Arthur is president now!"
If that's not enough to entice conspiracy theorists that Chester had something to do with the assassination, I don't know what is.
James Garfield fought the good fight and held on for 2 months after that (where Chet kept a low profile to profile to avoid suspicion), but he ultimately became the second president to be assassinated....
...and Chester Arthur was sworn in as our 21st president. He gave no inaugural address, and never selected a VP. Chet, who again- only became the VP for the prestige and the paycheck was now president.
But here's the crazy part: He was actually a pretty decent president.
Although he'd risen to power through the "political machine", he started reforming the very machine that had gotten him there. He launched a series of investigation, and supported a bunch of laws to ultimately render the machines powerless. Most notably is the Pendleton Civil Service Act. People now had to earn their spot in the government. It was bye-bye to Andrew Jackson's spoils system.
As president, he also modernized the Navy and funded additional ships.
Ironically, his administration also made it a priority to fight the fraud in the U.S. Postal Service.
And while he worked to increase funding for Native American's education, he wasn't so kind of the Chinese. His Chinese exclusion act halted immigration of the Chinese people for 10 years.
At his reuest, the International Meridian Conference was held in D.C, and the Prime Meridian, along with international standardized time was determined. (Not pictured: The Brooklyn Bridge also opened during his presidency).
You see, Chester Arthur, unlike so many villains who didn't quit while they were ahead, realized it was time to cash in his chips and leave the table. He took the machine that made it, and he SHUT. IT. DOWN.
But don't mistake his success as hard work. Chester Arthur "never did today what he could put off until tomorrow". The mutton chopped leader maintained a schedule that would qualify for part-time status. He would carry a "property basket" full of documents and meetings around the White House just to create the appearance he was working (though, everyone knew he was a slacker, and cartoons of the time often depicted him and his cabinet members hanging around in pajamas napping).
Arthur's acting"First Lady" was his sister, but Nell was remembered with a picture in the White House, and fresh flowers were placed below it every morning.
Oh, and Elegant Arthur refused to live in the dump that was the White House. He wanted Congress to pay for a renovation, or he would. (Congress did end up footing the bill). He brought in the finest designers, installed a 50 foot screen of jeweled glass in the entrance hall, had the ceiling of the East Room stained silver and dyed the drapes in pomegranates.
The newly remodled house had to be furnished, and what better way to raise money for those new furnishings than selling off all the useless junk (you know like Lemonade Lucy's sideboard table, Julia Grant's bird cage, John Adam's hat, and Abe Lincoln's pants), yard sale style. FYI, that stuff would be priceless today. (And would make for the most epic Pawn Stars episode ever).
Chet continued to throw some epic parties with some 3,000 people while he lived in the White House. People would climb in windows just because it was the only way to get in (because it was so packed), but the party was ending for Chet.
He was diagnosed with Blights disease (a kidney issue), and even a relaxing trip to Yellowstone with Robert Todd Lincoln couldn't cure him. In 1884, he decided not to seek re-election, knowing he probably wouldn't live through another presidency. Next up instead, was Grover Cleveland. (His poor health didn't really stop his game though, four White House staffers offered to marry him on his last day in office).
On November 16, in a page out of James Buchanan's book, Chet ordered the burning of nearly all his personal and official papers. Two days later, he died from a cerebral hemorrhage.
Former president Hayes (who hated Arthur and his snobby White House ways), and sitting president Grover Cleveland attended Chet's funeral, and he was buried in Albany, New York. He may not be one of our greatest presidents (he ranks somewhere 25-30), but he sure was way more entertaining and interesting than you'd think a guy named Chester would be.
After our timeline, we watched our president in 60 seconds. (James is back and visiting this week, but I'll catch you up on all our other happenings sometime later this week).
We made our birthday cards...
And our twitter hashtag.. He gets to share #SorryNotSorry with Richard Nixon.
We did our owl mail too.
Chet enjoyed fancy dinners, his favorite was seafood (but our guest, James, does not eat it). But, Chet also enjoyed roast beef and baked potatoes. (Pork roast was on sale, Beef roast was not, so guess what we went with). We also did the same Vermont carrots we did for Calvin Coolidge.
We tried to make it fancy too. We set the table (I don't feel like it's the correct placement, but we tried!) all nice, pulled out some sparkling wine, and lit a candle. We thought Chet would approve. (Even if some of us used plastic cups.)
Our activity for the day was a fun game of Who can put on the most pants (Chester owned over 80 pairs and changed them frequently. He was totes into fashion, that one.)
We piled up all the boys shorts and pants in a big pile....
...and gave them 60 seconds to see who could put on the most pants.
Hilarity ensued.
Then it was time to take them off and count how many everyone had.
Hayden got on 5.
Peyton astounded everyone with EIGHT.
And Calib came in with a respectable five, just like Hayden.
Our Chester Arthur fun facts..
...presidential issues..
...and quote...
That's it for Chester Arthur! Another one down, only a dozen more to go.
Next Up: I'll be back probably Wednesday with the game from yesterday (if you saw my facebook you know something AWESOME happened, even though they lost), and some James visiting fun!
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