I’m sure you remember it all very well: John McCain and Sarah Palin, citing their extensive records of bi-partisan reform, ran as self-proclaimed “mavericks” in their quest to gain the White House this year. Unfortunately, the two nonconformists failed to win the support of the people, who left them in the dust on Election Day. As a staunch admirer and advocate of Governor Palin, I would normally attribute the unpopularity of the GOP ticket to the “oh so moderate” Senator McCain, but this year proved particularly challenging for the struggling Republican Party because of someone else: George W. Bush. After eight years the American people have finally had enough and, notwithstanding the remnant of survivors, have decided to essentially banish Republicans from Washington. Ironically, Barack Obama seemingly “out-mavericked” the mavericks, basing his ticket on “change in which Americans could believe.” Well, they took the bait—hook, line, and sinker. Apparently the majority of Americans weren’t ready for another Republican president; John McCain’s promises of change fell on deaf ears, and his record of reform didn’t convince the obdurate Bush haters to vote for him. However, just give President-elect Obama and his liberal pals the chance to subject the country to their leftist policies, and most of the American people will come crawling back to Senator McCain on their hands and knees. Actually, let’s hope they crawl back to Sarah Palin instead; come 2012, I’m sure they’ll be flocking to her side. Governor Palin’s record of bi-partisan reform now gives her the unique opportunity to rally the troops, return with a vengeance, and bring Washington the change it really needs. In fact, I believe Sarah’s ready to take up the mantle of the original maverick of the GOP: Chester A. Arthur.

You see, despite all of the hype about John McCain’s “maverick” tendencies, politicians like him are by no means a new breed. Don’t get me wrong—John McCain and Sarah Palin have displayed impressive leadership skills by rising above partisan politics, “reaching across the aisle,” and even taking on members of their own party, but previous politicians paved the way for them. Everyone remembers the larger-than-life Democratic reformers—visionaries like Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt—but everyone forgets the original American maverick: Chester A. Arthur. Most people like to dismiss “The Gentleman Boss” as one of the many footnotes of American history, but in doing so, they jettison the valuable opportunity to study the private life and career of a superlative politician and learn many insightful political lessons along the way.

I must confess that my introduction to President Arthur had nothing to do with history or politics. Truth be told, I simply admired his sideburns. Even as a callow youth of 15 years, I could grow chops just like his—my facial hair growth hormones kicked in rather early. Two years later my “side whiskers” continues to flourish, and I remain the novelty of my church youth group, even with the addition of an accompanying handlebar mustache. In the beginning I simply knew Arthur as my stylistic inspiration, but as time wore on, I became more and more interested in the man behind the mask—facial hair, that is. At the time, I served as vice president of the local honor society, where I supported a good friend of mine in his role as president. After giving a speech in which I mentioned my sideburned hero, I discovered that my friend was a direct descendent of Arthur and quickly decided to learn more about the famously fashionable 21^st president whose facial hair I esteemed so highly. Not surprisingly, I learned a lot more about Arthur than I had anticipated, and he soon became one of my favorite presidents.

The son of an ardent abolitionist preacher, “Elegant Arthur” attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, from 1845-1848. After graduating, he taught at a local school and studied law, passing his bar exam in 1854 and gaining a clerkship in a New York legal firm headed by Erastus D. Culver. Arthur’s involvement in two civil rights cases, one ensuring the freedom of a group of slaves brought to New York by their master and the other leading to the integration of the New York streetcar system, greatly advanced Arthur’s public profile, but the Civil War interrupted his law career.

Evidently God had other plans for Arthur; in 1861 Edwin D. Morgan, the Republican governor of New York, appointed the young lawyer to be the engineer-in-chief of the state militia with the rank of quartermaster general and later brigadier general in the New York Volunteers. Gaining a reputation for efficiency, genius administrative abilities, and reliability, Arthur resumed his law practice in 1863, soon earning a small fortune and a position as one of Senator Roscoe Conkling’s (R-NY) top lieutenants. In 1869 and 1870 Arthur served as the chief consul to the New York City Tax Commission, lining his pockets with a princely annual salary of $10,000.

One year later President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Chester A. Arthur to the position of Collector of the Port of New York. Serving in this capacity until 1878, Arthur supervised nearly 1,300 agents responsible for collecting approximately 75% of the country’s import duties. In this station, taking into account various “perks,” Arthur grossed $50,000 a year—the same salary as the President of the United States. Despite the tremendous responsibility of overseeing so many agents and so much money, Arthur always performed his duties with honesty, avoiding the graft so common in the New York Customs House. In fact, he once declared, “If I had misappropriated five cents, and on walking down-town saw two men talking on the street together, I would imagine they were talking of my dishonesty, and the very thought would drive me mad.”

When President Rutherford B. Hayes was inaugurated in 1877, he sought to reform the New York customs office in order to distance himself from the scandals of the Grant Administration. After establishing a special commission to investigate corruption in the customs office, President Hayes ousted Chester A. Arthur, despite a complete lack of evidence that “The Gentleman Boss” ever partook in graft of any kind. During the presidential election of 1880 Arthur and his boss, Roscoe Conkling, determined to take control of the port again by attempting to draft Ulysses S. Grant as Haye’s successor in the White House.

However, after a fierce struggle between the Stalwart and the Half-Breed factions of the Republican Party at the 1880 Republican National Convention, the GOP finally compromised and selected James A. Garfield, a moderate Ohio politician and the Republican minority leader in the House of Representatives, as their presidential candidate. In order to console the resentful Stalwarts, Garfield unexpectedly asked Chester A. Arthur to be his running mate. In spite of the urgings of Roscoe Conkling, Arthur gleefully accepted Garfield’s offer, declaring that “the office of the Vice-President is a greater honor than I ever dreamed of attaining.”

On Election Day Garfield and Arthur beat the Democrats Winfield S. Hancock and William H. English in the popular vote by less than 0.01% but dominated the Electoral College with 214 votes to 155 votes. After the election, Arthur, who remained firmly in the Stalwart camp, shared a mutual animosity with President Garfield, with whom he openly broke. Seemingly destined to become a powerless and obscure figure in the Garfield Administration, Arthur’s career suddenly changed forever when a deranged Stalwart office-seeker named Charles Guiteau shot the President, claiming he wanted to see Arthur in the White House instead.

Ascending to the Presidency on the heels of James A. Garfield’s assassination, Arthur, a highly unpopular vice president, quickly and eagerly distanced himself from his former political associates, determining to run his administration as he pleased. As few men in public life could match his administrative skills, no President has ever been better equipped to manage a federal bureaucracy than Chester A. Arthur. From the beginning of his presidency, Arthur clearly demonstrated that no one controlled him by severing his ties with his old Stalwart cronies and refusing to fully embrace the “reformer” image of his predecessor. Instead, Arthur chose to do exactly what Arthur believed he should do, regardless of political repercussions. This is critical! Although I may not have agreed with Chester A. Arthur on every issue, his dedication to his scruples will continue to set an example for our future Presidents. This country desperately needs more leaders of principle who, like Arthur, make decisions based on their inherent belief systems—preferably conservative belief systems that correspond with the Founding Fathers’ vision for this nation.

As President, Chester A. Arthur accomplished many important domestic tasks that we so often overlook:

 

Ø  To the great dismay of his former Stalwart pals, he actively championed civil service reform and signed the Pendleton Act, which attempted to put an end to patronage and cronyism by banning salary kickbacks and federal appointments among the states and implementing merit exams by which new employees could advance.

 

Ø  Although Congress defied him, Arthur bucked his own party by appointing a special tariff commission that called for a 20 to 25 percent tariff reduction.

 

Ø  He vetoed the notorious $18,000,000 “pork barrel” Rivers and Harbors Act of 1882 and the proposed Chinese Exclusion Act, both of which he deemed highly unreasonable; unfortunately, Congress overran the former veto, and Arthur later signed the latter act when Congress lowered the duration to ten years.

 

Ø   Known as the “Father of the Steel Navy,” Arthur took the crucial first steps in constructing a modern, post-Civil War navy.

Chester A. Arthur frequently bucked his own party (perhaps more than any other president), refusing to trouble himself with partisan politics. In fact, Arthur singlehandedly demonstrated that he worked outside and above not only factions within the relatively new Republican Party but even the GOP itself. If any president may truly be called a maverick, Chester A. Arthur may; he continually pushed aside his own political interests in order to do what he believed to be right. Unfortunately, most modern presidents lack this dedication to principle, instead opting to work the political machine in an attempt to score high approval ratings. On the other hand, Arthur, no stranger to disapproval, realized that popularity didn’t matter in the long run. However, despite his fiercely independent presidency, Arthur still managed to become one of the most admired presidents of all time. Publisher Alexander K. McClure once said of Arthur, “No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted, and no one ever retired … more generally respected.” Even author Mark Twain, despite his deeply cynical view of politicians, famously declared, “It would be hard indeed to better President Arthur’s administration.”

From the beginning of his presidency Chester A. Arthur knew that he was dying of the dreaded Bright’s Disease, a then-fatal kidney disorder, but he never told anyone. Instead, he often threw elaborate parties at the White House, inviting friends, family, and the Washington elite to his home for their enjoyment. Arthur understood that the last precious years of his life would matter the most, so he chose to work hard and play hard. When it came down to it, President Arthur realized that his choices, not his image, would affect the lives of the American people for years to come. Fortunately for him, his image needed no improvement, and few presidents before or after him could claim a similar dedication to making choices so firmly based on personal conviction rather than political expedience.

As Republicans, we so often name Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan as the three icons and symbolic standard-bearers of our party, and we do so for good reason. However, I suggest we adopt a fourth ideal leader into the legendary fold: Chester A. Arthur. His dedication to making wise, principled choices should serve as a model for all future presidents.

So what do you say? Let’s elect the next Arthur in 2012—namely Sarah Palin. But that topic will have to wait for a future article…

 

Palin/Jindal ‘12

 

REFERENCES

“Chester A. Arthur.” American Eras, Volume 8: Development of the Industrial United States, 1878-1899. Gale Research, 1997. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

“Chester A. Arthur.” http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ca21.html

“Chester Alan Arthur.” Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

“Chester Alan Arthur.” http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/arthur/essays/biography