Chester A. Arthur: Surprisingly Good
2023-07-23
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1VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents.
2Today we are talking about Chester A. Arthur. (The letter "A" is for Alan, his middle name.)
3Arthur took office because of an unexpected event.
4He was sworn in as Vice President in March 1881 under James Garfield.
5But only 100 days into Garfield's term, the president was shot. He suffered for months.
6Arthur was not close to Garfield.
7The two men belonged to the same party, but they had different ideas on the issues of the day.
8They publicly disagreed on a number of subjects.
9If Garfield lived, Arthur would probably not have much power in his administration.
10But Garfield eventually died.
11By this time, it was well-established that if the president of the United States dies in office, the vice president becomes the president.
12So, in September 1881, Arthur became the country's chief executive.
13He served the remaining three and a half years of Garfield's term.
14Historians say that, for the most part, Arthur performed ably and well.
15Chester Arthur was raised in the northeastern states of Vermont and New York. He was one of eight children in his family.
16Their father was a religious leader and anti-slavery activist.
17Arthur attended college in New York, then taught school and studied law.
18But he never wanted to stay in a small town and live modestly.
19He wanted to live in New York City, work as a lawyer and public official, become wealthy, and enjoy the lifestyle of a gentleman.
20And that is what he did.
21Arthur advanced from an entry-level job in a law office, to a leadership position in the military during the Civil War.
22After the fighting stopped, he worked in a good-paying job as a lawyer, and then accepted a top position in the government.
23For seven years, Arthur served as the collector of the port of New York.
24His job involved supervising 1,300 people.
25They collected large amounts of money that came from taxes on imported goods.
26The job had a political element, too. It was under the control of a U.S. senator from New York, Roscoe Conkling.
27Conkling was known as a Republican Party chief, who traded political support for financial and other benefits.
28Arthur was never found guilty of accepting money or gifts in exchange for the help of his office.
29But he was closely linked to Conkling's political machine.
30When Rutherford B. Hayes became president in 1878, he tried to fight corruption in government jobs.
31He targeted Conkling and Arthur.
32Arthur's position as the collector of the port of New York was one of the issues in the election of 1880.
33President Hayes had suspended Arthur from the job.
34To get it back, Arthur and Conkling supported an effort to re-elect former president Ulysses S. Grant.
35But another candidate won the Republican Party's presidential nomination: James Garfield.
36Garfield and Arthur were not natural allies.
37Although they were both Republicans, they represented different points of view.
38Political leaders hoped to unite the party.
39So, when Garfield was chosen as the presidential candidate, they added Arthur as the vice presidential nominee.
40The effort to unite the party worked well enough to win the election.
41But relations between the two men were uneasy.
42One of Garfield's first acts was to appoint someone for Arthur's old job in New York.
43The new president wanted someone who was not loyal to Conkling.
44So he gave the position to one of his supporters, instead.
45In protest, Conkling resigned from the Senate.
46But then events took an unexpected turn. Garfield was shot by a mentally unbalanced man who believed the president owed him a government job.
47And Chester A. Arthur became president.
48When Arthur took office, he had the public image of being an experienced political operator.
49Most people believed he cared only about supporting the aims of a small part of the Republican Party.
50Instead, President Arthur took an independent position on several issues.
51In opposition to most of his party, Arthur supported legislation to reform the country's civil service.
52It aimed to clean up corruption in government and took away some of the ability of politicians to give government jobs to their supporters.
53(To be fair, in the short term, the act helped Arthur's party.)
54Arthur also broke with the Republican Party leadership to support a reduction in tariffs.
55And he strongly argued to limit spending federal money on projects that helped only a few areas or businesses.
56Instead, he wanted to cut taxes so more people would profit from the government's surplus.
57Finally, Arthur vetoed an anti-immigration act from Congress.
58The measure proposed banning Chinese immigrants for 20 years.
59Arthur argued that the Chinese had improved the American economy by helping build a railroad across the country.
60He also did not want to hurt potential trade with China.
61However, when Congress offered to ban Chinese immigrants for only 10 years, Arthur agreed.
62In addition, his administration banned immigrants who were considered poor, criminal, or mentally insane.
63Perhaps Arthur's most memorable act as president, however, was to re-decorate the White House.
64He did not like its appearance inside.
65So he asked one of New York's top designers, Louis Tiffany, to make the home brighter and more stylish.
66In the newly remodeled rooms, Arthur held parties, with fine food and drink, for elite guests. He was known as "The Gentleman Boss."
67Observers then and now say that Arthur served well as president.
68He was a solid leader after the difficult years of the Civil War and Reconstruction.
69But Arthur did not live much beyond his presidency.
70Shortly into his term, he learned he had a serious kidney disease that would likely kill him.
71As a result, he did not try hard to get re-elected.
72Instead, after finishing his term he returned to his home in New York.
73Arthur tried to work as a lawyer, but he soon became too sick.
74His wife had died of malaria before he became president.
75And he liked to spend his free time fishing or with friends instead of with his children.
76But, in his last months, he could not enjoy those activities either.
77He died at home at the age of 57.
78I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.
1VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents. 2Today we are talking about Chester A. Arthur. (The letter "A" is for Alan, his middle name.) 3Arthur took office because of an unexpected event. He was sworn in as Vice President in March 1881 under James Garfield. 4But only 100 days into Garfield's term, the president was shot. He suffered for months. 5Arthur was not close to Garfield. The two men belonged to the same party, but they had different ideas on the issues of the day. They publicly disagreed on a number of subjects. 6If Garfield lived, Arthur would probably not have much power in his administration. 7But Garfield eventually died. 8By this time, it was well-established that if the president of the United States dies in office, the vice president becomes the president. 9So, in September 1881, Arthur became the country's chief executive. He served the remaining three and a half years of Garfield's term. 10Historians say that, for the most part, Arthur performed ably and well. 11Early life 12Chester Arthur was raised in the northeastern states of Vermont and New York. He was one of eight children in his family. Their father was a religious leader and anti-slavery activist. 13Arthur attended college in New York, then taught school and studied law. But he never wanted to stay in a small town and live modestly. He wanted to live in New York City, work as a lawyer and public official, become wealthy, and enjoy the lifestyle of a gentleman. 14And that is what he did. 15Arthur advanced from an entry-level job in a law office, to a leadership position in the military during the Civil War. After the fighting stopped, he worked in a good-paying job as a lawyer, and then accepted a top position in the government. 16For seven years, Arthur served as the collector of the port of New York. His job involved supervising 1,300 people. They collected large amounts of money that came from taxes on imported goods. 17The job had a political element, too. It was under the control of a U.S. senator from New York, Roscoe Conkling. Conkling was known as a Republican Party chief, who traded political support for financial and other benefits. 18Arthur was never found guilty of accepting money or gifts in exchange for the help of his office. But he was closely linked to Conkling's political machine. 19When Rutherford B. Hayes became president in 1878, he tried to fight corruption in government jobs. He targeted Conkling and Arthur. 20Election of 1880 21Arthur's position as the collector of the port of New York was one of the issues in the election of 1880. 22President Hayes had suspended Arthur from the job. To get it back, Arthur and Conkling supported an effort to re-elect former president Ulysses S. Grant. 23But another candidate won the Republican Party's presidential nomination: James Garfield. 24Garfield and Arthur were not natural allies. Although they were both Republicans, they represented different points of view. 25Political leaders hoped to unite the party. So, when Garfield was chosen as the presidential candidate, they added Arthur as the vice presidential nominee. 26The effort to unite the party worked well enough to win the election. But relations between the two men were uneasy. 27One of Garfield's first acts was to appoint someone for Arthur's old job in New York. The new president wanted someone who was not loyal to Conkling. So he gave the position to one of his supporters, instead. 28In protest, Conkling resigned from the Senate. 29But then events took an unexpected turn. Garfield was shot by a mentally unbalanced man who believed the president owed him a government job. 30And Chester A. Arthur became president. 31Presidency 32When Arthur took office, he had the public image of being an experienced political operator. Most people believed he cared only about supporting the aims of a small part of the Republican Party. 33Instead, President Arthur took an independent position on several issues. In opposition to most of his party, Arthur supported legislation to reform the country's civil service. It aimed to clean up corruption in government and took away some of the ability of politicians to give government jobs to their supporters. 34(To be fair, in the short term, the act helped Arthur's party.) 35Arthur also broke with the Republican Party leadership to support a reduction in tariffs. And he strongly argued to limit spending federal money on projects that helped only a few areas or businesses. Instead, he wanted to cut taxes so more people would profit from the government's surplus. 36Finally, Arthur vetoed an anti-immigration act from Congress. The measure proposed banning Chinese immigrants for 20 years. 37Arthur argued that the Chinese had improved the American economy by helping build a railroad across the country. He also did not want to hurt potential trade with China. 38However, when Congress offered to ban Chinese immigrants for only 10 years, Arthur agreed. In addition, his administration banned immigrants who were considered poor, criminal, or mentally insane. 39Perhaps Arthur's most memorable act as president, however, was to re-decorate the White House. He did not like its appearance inside. So he asked one of New York's top designers, Louis Tiffany, to make the home brighter and more stylish. 40In the newly remodeled rooms, Arthur held parties, with fine food and drink, for elite guests. He was known as "The Gentleman Boss." 41Legacy 42Observers then and now say that Arthur served well as president. He was a solid leader after the difficult years of the Civil War and Reconstruction. 43But Arthur did not live much beyond his presidency. Shortly into his term, he learned he had a serious kidney disease that would likely kill him. 44As a result, he did not try hard to get re-elected. 45Instead, after finishing his term he returned to his home in New York. Arthur tried to work as a lawyer, but he soon became too sick. 46His wife had died of malaria before he became president. And he liked to spend his free time fishing or with friends instead of with his children. But, in his last months, he could not enjoy those activities either. 47He died at home at the age of 57. 48I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. 49Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 50_______________________________________________________________ 51See how well you understand this story by taking a listening quiz. Play each video clip and then choose the best answer. 52_________________________________________________________________ 53Words in This Story 54chief executive - n. the president of a country 55modestly - adv. not very large in size or amount 56advanced - v. moved forward 57element - n. a particular part of something 58benefits - n. a good or helpful result or effect 59tariffs - n. taxes on goods coming into or leaving a country 60stylish - adj. following the popular style: fashionable 61elite - adj. the people who have the most wealth and status in a society 62Reconstruction - n. the period from 1867 to 1877 when the southern states joined the northern states again after the American Civil War 63We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.