By the Maui Curmudgeon (21st in a 43-part series)

How do the U.S. Presidents stack up? I thought I’d find out by reading biographies of all 43 presidents, in the order of their administrations. Here are briefly the pros and cons of my discoveries, the interesting bits, and how I’d rank him. For comparison, I give you the 1982 Murrary-Blessing ranking, a survey of hundreds of leading historians who ranked each president by number. This survey is the gold standard of presidential rankings and is most cited when this kind of thing needs bringing up in media.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR: 1881-1885  ~ 21st U.S. President

According to witnesses on the train platform, Charles Guiteau, before shooting President Garfield, said, “I am a stalwart, and Arthur will be president!” Turns out, he was right.

Long before Guiteau was hung for murder, Arthur was indeed president. However, he is sometimes labeled the most obscure president in a long line of such presidents in the last half of the 19th century.

In the public’s mind, the stretch from Hayes to Roosevelt is often a blur – of assassinations, mutton-chop sideburns, a president  twice elected but not consecutively, etc. Arthur was the one with the mutton chops, and boy was he a dud! He is also the second president who many suspect was gay. In Arthur, they may have a case.

Arthur had no national political experience. Indeed, he ran a political machine in New York, that was it. Like so many before him, he was put on the ticket because he was “safe,” and unlikely to become president. When he did, he bungled it.

THE BAD
He was the first preisdent to push and sign into law immigration restrictions based on race - no Chinese immigrants were allowed into the U.S. for 20 years.

During his four years, he gave the country no legislative direction, and announced no incentives either foreign or domEstic.

THE GOOD
He knew he was lucky to hold the office, and also knew he didn’t know what he was doing, so he kept Garfield’s cabinet intact, and pushed Garfield’s policies wherever possible.

He signed the Pendleton Act, which reformed the patronage system for civil service jobs, a system first put into place by the corrupt Andrew Jackson.

INTERESTING BITS
He loved good food and wine, was said to have wonderful taste in clothes and decorating, and was a great dancer.

Murray-Blessing Rank: 26

My Score: 35%

Interesting Reading:

Chester Alan Arthur: The Life of a Gilded Age Politician And President (First Men, America’s Presidents) by Gregory J. Dehler