Review of Chester Alan Arthur by Zachary Karabell

Chester Arthur, writes historian Zachary Karabell, “remains a cypher, one of those late-nineteenth-century inhabitants of the White House whose echo has been muffled by more memorable individuals and whose footprint…has been trampled on and all but erased” (2). In Chester Alan Arthur, Karabell attempts to bring Arthur to life for a new generation.  In so doing, he presents a sympathetic and compelling portrait of our mostly-forgotten 21^st president.

Many historians have considered Arthur to be largely a “place holder” president who made few contributions to the nation he briefly led.  Karabell argues just the opposite, claiming that “unexpectedly, the presidency of Chester Alan Arthur was a tipping point” (9) due to his signing the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act.  This act, which required that certain positions in the federal government should be awarded on the basis of merit rather than political affiliation, marked the beginning of the end of the so-called “Spoils System,” in which these positions were given to political cronies regardless of their qualifications.  Arthur’s decision to sign the bill is especially surprising, given that he had made a career as the embodiment of the Spoils System, having grown wealthy as Collector of the Port of New York prior to becoming Garfield’s vice president.  Although the Pendleton Act applied to very few positions at first, over time, its standards were applied to increasingly more government jobs.  Karabell summarizes the act’s importance:

The Pendleton Act was a vital step toward a new view of government.  No longer would it be seen primarily as an adjunct of business or the tool of elites.  Instead, government became the protector of the common good…[The act] put the old spoils system on a path to obsolescence and it was a necessary prelude to the government-led reforms of the Progressive era and beyond. (109,111).

In addition to praising Arthur for signing the Pendleton Act, Karabell commends him for vetoing the first Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (although, under the threat of a veto override, he signed a second, less harsh act later that year), for vetoing a major “pork barrel” spending bill, and for beginning the process of modernizing the U. S Navy.  Karabell especially praises the latter accomplishment, arguing that “without Arthur, Roosevelt and McKinley might not have had a navy capable of annihilating the Spanish in 1898” (118).

Karabell’s summary of Arthur’s presidency is excellent:

In everything he did, Chester Alan Arthur was a gentleman, and that is rare and precious.  It reminds us that adversaries can be treated with respect, that democracy can survive differences, and that leadership isn’t just great words and deeds.  Arthur managed to be a decent man and a decent president in an era when decency was in short supply. (143)

Chester Alan Arthur is marred by two major flaws.  The first of these is his omission of the fascinating story of Julia Sand, a bedridden single woman who wrote Arthur a series of 23 letters between 1881 and 1883 and gave the president encouragement and advice.  Arthur was so impressed with Sands’ counsel that he saved all her letters and even once paid her a surprise visit.  Sands’ letters to Arthur influenced him greatly and thus must be given at least brief mention in an Arthur biography, no matter how brief it is.

The second major flaw of Karabell’s biography is the casual, almost chatty style in which it is written.  The author’s constant use of contractions in particular, will be annoying to readers who expect authors of formal historical works to use standard written English.  Despite these flaws, however, this biography is a solid introduction to Arthur’s life and times (in fact, Karabell includes some of the best summaries of Gilded Age life and politics I have ever seen in such a short work).  Chester Alan Arthur would be an excellent first step for anyone who seeks an introduction to our 21^st president.