Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. Previously the 20th vice president, he succeeded to the presidency upon the death of President James A. Garfield in September 1881, two months after Garfield was shot by an assassin.
Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont, grew up in upstate New York and practiced law in New York City. He served as quartermaster general of the New York Militia during the American Civil War. Following the war, he devoted more time to New York Republican politics and quickly rose in Senator Roscoe Conkling's political organization. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him to the post of Collector of the Port of New York in 1871, and he was an important supporter of Conkling and the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes fired Arthur as part of a plan to reform the federal patronage system in New York. Garfield won the Republican nomination for president in 1880, and Arthur was nominated for vice president to balance the ticket as an Eastern Stalwart. Four months into his term, Garfield was shot by an assassin; he died 11 weeks later, and Arthur assumed the presidency.
At the outset, Arthur struggled to overcome a negative reputation as a Stalwart and product of Conkling's organization. To the surprise of reformers, he advocated and enforced the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. He presided over the rebirth of the US Navy, but he was criticized for failing to alleviate the federal budget surplus which had been accumulating since the end of the Civil War. Arthur vetoed the first version of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, arguing that its twenty-year ban on Chinese immigrants to the United States violated the Burlingame Treaty, but he signed a second version, which included a ten-year ban.Suffering from poor health, Arthur made only a limited effort to secure the Republican Party's nomination in 1884, and he retired at the end of his term. Journalist Alexander McClure 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." Arthur's failing health and political temperament combined to make his administration less active than a modern presidency, yet 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." Mark Twain wrote of him, "It would be hard indeed to better President Arthur's administration." Despite this, modern historians generally describe Arthur's presidency as mediocre or average, and Arthur as one of the least memorable presidents.
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Some of their strengths
Chester A. Arthur has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Diplomatic, Hardworking, Loyal, Optimistic, Curious, Resilient, and Selfless.
Intelligent and Inquisitive
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Chester A. Arthur is someone who is an intelligent, inquisitive, and imaginative person, who is practical, considerate, kind, and diplomatic in dealings with others. A person who is charismatic and resourceful.
Helpful and Supportive
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Chester A. Arthur well know them as someone who can be accepting, supportive, and productive, like a garden.
Methodical and Exacting
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Chester A. Arthur as someone who is careful, methodical, and a perfectionist.
A person who forms successful business partnerships, who appreciates the variety the world has to offer, who takes a frugal approach to life and tends to be a workaholic, and who engages in things that let them express their opinion.
Stable and Creative
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Chester A. Arthur is someone who thrives in volatile situations, and who tends to be a source of stability and comfort for others who are experiencing challenging times .
They are also someone who is intuitive, imaginative, and an agent of change, and who is always dreaming of life's great possibilities and partnering with people to try to achieve those possibilities.
Justice-seeking and Peaceful
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Chester A. Arthur tends to be someone who loves peace and is ready to go to any costs to achieve it. Who has a taste for the good things in life, tends to be a good organizer, has a thirst for knowledge, and who tends to have the respect of friends and acquaintances.
Some of Chester A. Arthur's challenges
While Chester A. Arthur has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Chester A. Arthur can be Stubborn, Hesitant, Narcissistic, Suspicious, Sensitive, Critical, and Unemotional.
Hesitant and Narcissistic
One of Chester A. Arthur's key challenges is that they are someone who can be hesitant and narcissistic.
Chester A. Arthur must also exercise caution as they can have a hard time reconciling wants and needs.
Sensitive and Critical
Chester A. Arthur is someone who can be insecure, critical, and pessimistic, who can have difficulty relaxing, can be possessive and jealous, and who can have difficulty listening to others' opinions and perspectives and make hasty decisions.
Pleasure-seeking and Indecisive
Finally, Chester A. Arthur also can put others first too much, and hem-and-haw too much when making a decision.
