Chester Alan Arthur

Born in Vermont in 1829, Chester Alan Arthur grew up in a family shaped by religion, education, and reform. He became a lawyer in New York and built his reputation in the busy political world of mid-19th-century Manhattan, eventually serving as collector of the Port of New York, one of the most powerful patronage posts in the country.

Arthur was elected vice president in 1880 and became the 21st president of the United States after James A. Garfield was assassinated in 1881. Many critics expected him to be a conventional machine politician, but in office he supported the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which helped begin moving federal jobs away from the spoils system and toward merit-based hiring.

He left office in 1885 and died the following year, in 1886. Although he is sometimes less remembered than other presidents, Arthur remains an interesting figure: a man tied to old-style party politics who, once in power, helped push the federal government toward a more modern civil service.