Chester Alan Arthur : [The American Presidents Series ]

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Read, despite Arthur's lack of Importance
Review: Even among the many obscure U.S. presidents of the nineteenth century, Chester Alan Arthur is a forgotten man. His assumption to the presidency was unforeseen and unwanted; his achievements during his term were unremarkable; once that term was over, he graciously and quietly left politics, and died soon afterwards. If he is remembered at all today, it is usually as an unexpected supporter of civil service reform.

Zachary Karabell doesn't challenge the conventional wisdom on Arthur's presidency; he doesn't -- unlike some biographers in this "The American Presidents" series -- try to convince the reader that Arthur was a good or important president. Instead, Karabell seeks to place Arthur in the context of his times and show that -- all things taken into consideration - he was the right man for the presidency.

Arthur's pre-presidential life is fascinating. In many ways he was involved with the late nineteenth century's key political concerns before he ever entered politics. He was the collector of the New York Customhouse throughout most of the 1870s, when it took in a great deal of the federal government's revenue, and when its staff was often criticized for its recruitment policies and collection habits. As a socially-connected New Yorker, he befriended many of the most powerful politicians in the country, including New York Senator Roscoe Conkling.

While controversy was not unknown to Arthur at this point, most agree he handled himself with character and restraint. These qualities, along with his affiliation with the Stalwarts, helped make him an acceptable vice presidential candidate for James Garfield -- even though Arthur's political experience was limited.

After a tight election, Arthur was ready to settle down into a position of little importance. Vice presidents did almost nothing in the nineteenth century, and Arthur had no reason to expect his tenure would be any different. Only after Garfield was shot and injured with a wound that would eventually kill him, did it occur to anyone -- including the vice president -- that Arthur was a heartbeat away from the presidency. What made it worse was that Garfield's assassin wanted Arthur to be president.

Despite his immense grief over Garfield's death, Arthur's fine personal qualities made the transition easier than it might have been. He was not an ambitious man and his gentlemanly dignity in the days and months after Garfield's death helped to set the tone for the rest of his presidency. Rarely did he make headlines, and when he did, he often did so to the detriment of his political future by avoiding strong partisan stands. To the surprise of some in his Republican faction, he came out in support of civil service reform. On immigration and Indian affairs, he was more liberal than most of the country. He began a buildup of the U.S. Navy that would later play a crucial role when in the Spanish-American War.

But these accomplishments of Arthur's were less impressive than they might have been. He was a passive leader, not an active one. If he had an opportunity to follow his conscience, he did so. But rarely did he go out of his way to set policy on the course he believed was correct. As Karabell points out, however, that was what the country wanted in a chief executive at the time.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Read, despite Arthur's lack of Importance
Review: Even among the many obscure U.S. presidents of the nineteenth century, Chester Alan Arthur is a forgotten man. His assumption to the presidency was unforeseen and unwanted; his achievements during his term were unremarkable; once that term was over, he graciously and quietly left politics, and died soon afterwards. If he is remembered at all today, it is usually as an unexpected supporter of civil service reform.

Zachary Karabell doesn't challenge the conventional wisdom on Arthur's presidency; he doesn't -- unlike some biographers in this "The American Presidents" series -- try to convince the reader that Arthur was a good or important president. Instead, Karabell seeks to place Arthur in the context of his times and show that -- all things taken into consideration - he was the right man for the presidency.

Arthur's pre-presidential life is fascinating. In many ways he was involved with the late nineteenth century's key political concerns before he ever entered politics. He was the collector of the New York Customhouse throughout most of the 1870s, when it took in a great deal of the federal government's revenue, and when its staff was often criticized for its recruitment policies and collection habits. As a socially-connected New Yorker, he befriended many of the most powerful politicians in the country, including New York Senator Roscoe Conkling.

While controversy was not unknown to Arthur at this point, most agree he handled himself with character and restraint. These qualities, along with his affiliation with the Stalwarts, helped make him an acceptable vice presidential candidate for James Garfield -- even though Arthur's political experience was limited.

After a tight election, Arthur was ready to settle down into a position of little importance. Vice presidents did almost nothing in the nineteenth century, and Arthur had no reason to expect his tenure would be any different. Only after Garfield was shot and injured with a wound that would eventually kill him, did it occur to anyone -- including the vice president -- that Arthur was a heartbeat away from the presidency. What made it worse was that Garfield's assassin wanted Arthur to be president.

Despite his immense grief over Garfield's death, Arthur's fine personal qualities made the transition easier than it might have been. He was not an ambitious man and his gentlemanly dignity in the days and months after Garfield's death helped to set the tone for the rest of his presidency. Rarely did he make headlines, and when he did, he often did so to the detriment of his political future by avoiding strong partisan stands. To the surprise of some in his Republican faction, he came out in support of civil service reform. On immigration and Indian affairs, he was more liberal than most of the country. He began a buildup of the U.S. Navy that would later play a crucial role when in the Spanish-American War.

But these accomplishments of Arthur's were less impressive than they might have been. He was a passive leader, not an active one. If he had an opportunity to follow his conscience, he did so. But rarely did he go out of his way to set policy on the course he believed was correct. As Karabell points out, however, that was what the country wanted in a chief executive at the time.

Rating:
Summary: A LAIDBACK, GENTLEMAN PRESIDENT
Review: The author, Zachary Karabell, writes an interesting, brief biography of Chester Alan Arthur the obscure 21st president of the United States. The text states "Chester Alan Arthur hadn't wanted to become the nation's chief executive. He certainly hadn't aspired to be vice president" and Karabell further notes "....Chester Alan Arthur may have the distinction of being the president who derived the least amount of pleasure from being president." Prior to becoming vice president he had been custom collector for the Port of New York, a well-paid lawyer and head of the New York Republican Party but had never been elected to public office.

He ran as Garfield's vice president in 1880, a campaign notable for what it lacked; "It was a contest of organization and will, not a battle over the future direction of the country." Ideology was ignored with politicians viewing "order as the most important good." With Garfield's assassination, Arthur became president on September 20, 1881. The text notes "No one knew what direction the Arthur administration would take, not even Arthur himself" and observes "As it turned out, the qualities he did possess allowed him to rise farther than many others who were more intelligent, dynamic, and driven."

He was president in an era when "the White House had shed much of the power it had acquired during the Civil War" and each national election was a patronage contest. The assassination of Garfield placed the issue of civil service reform on the front burner. The response was the Pendleton Civil Service Act, the most memorable legislation to emerge from Arthur's presidency. Zachary Karabell's account of Arthur's presidency is brief but informative. Besides civil service reform, the text covers Arthur's handling of Indian affairs, the Anti-Chinese sentiment, and his veto of the Rivers and Harbors Bill. However, in 1882 the Republicans lost control of the House and Arthur's chances for a second term were slim. Perhaps Author's most important contribution to the country was his resuscitation of the military. The army was somewhat sustained because of the Indian wars, but in less than twenty years since the Civil War, the navy had lost almost 90 percent of its ships. Arthur emphatically supported a plan to build ships "designed for offense and attack" and the text notes without Arthur "....[Teddy] Roosevelt and McKinley might not have had a navy capable of annihilating the Spanish in 1898." In addition, this helped to prepare the United States for the foreign affair challenges of the twentieth century.

Having lost his base support, Arthur was not nominated for a second term. The 1884 election was won by Grover Cleveland, a Democrat. As he left office Arthur was the object of warm political eulogies and the author writes "Arthur had become president with perilously low expectations, which he then exceeded. In essence, most people concluded that the Arthur administration hadn't been half bad." He died at age 56 less than two years after leaving office.

In conclusion, Karabell states Arthur "....tried to serve the general good rather than the interest of his faction..." and he "....did for civil service reform what he had done for most things in his life: he added a note of grace and honor, and the result was a balanced piece of legislation at a time when that was rare." The author concludes "In everything he did, Chester Alan Arthur was a gentleman and that is rare and precious" and closes stating "Arthur managed to be a decent man, a decent president in an era when decency was in short supply."

Americans would do well to read this brief biography of a somewhat obscure, laidback; but decent, honest, gentleman president.




Rating:
Summary: An intriguing look at an overlooked president
Review: This is a fascinating book. Although it is relatively brief, it paints a detailed portrait of a gilded age - not unlike our own -and of one privileged politician who rose above the spoils system to restore integrity and style to the White House. Karabell's style is breezy and informative, but his narrative is deeply serious, and relevant to students of history, and of the current political factions. For anyone who cares about the true possibility for reform in a system so riven with partisan strife, I urge you to read this book!

Rating:
Summary: An intriguing look at an overlooked president
Review: This is a fascinating book. Although it is relatively brief, it paints a detailed portrait of a gilded age - not unlike our own -and of one privileged politician who rose above the spoils system to restore integrity and style to the White House. Karabell's style is breezy and informative, but his narrative is deeply serious, and relevant to students of history, and of the current political factions. For anyone who cares about the true possibility for reform in a system so riven with partisan strife, I urge you to read this book!

Rating:
Summary: Rescued from the shadows, if only for a moment
Review: Zachary Karabell set a challenge for himself, no question: Take one of America's most forgotten presidents and try to find enough to say about him to fill a book -- even one fitting the relatively short length of the titles in The American Presidents series. And give the man credit, he's done it. More than that, he even makes a case for Arthur as -- if still not quite memorable, let alone important -- at least somewhat interesting.

Karabell's challenge was made all the greater by the shadows surrounding Arthur's personal life. Not only did Arthur prefer it that way himself (p. 108), but most of his personal papers were destroyed shortly after his death. Consequently, Arthur the man is a little thin in these pages ("thin" being an adjective probably never applied to Arthur himself during his lifetime). But while anyone looking for People Magazine-style "hidden secrets" about our twenty-first president is bound to be disappointed, the author more than makes up for this with a fine capsule portrayal of the Gilded Age and its politics. This is important, for Arthur was very much a man and a politician of his time.

Indeed, the most noteworthy part of Arthur's term in office was his own transformation from "Gentleman Boss" to simply "Gentleman." Despite his history as the veritable poster boy of spoils-system, backroom machine politicking, Arthur "grew in office," as we'd say today, into perhaps one of the best men to help shepherd through important civil service reforms. Karabell argues, I think convincingly, that the new political culture Arthur helped create still affects us today.

Chester Alan Arthur wasn't a crusader or a firebrand. He wasn't driven by a lust for power or glory. In fact, Karabell describes him as perhaps America's most reluctant president -- a man who never in his life wanted to be chief executive. He slipped back into obscurity almost as soon as he left office, and if anything is even more forgotten today. But "in an age of low expectations, he was more than satisfactory" (p. 139). That the author is able to make that case, not only convincingly but interestingly and even sometimes entertainingly as well, is a credit to him as well as to his subject.