James Garfield (1881) & Chester Arthur's Presidency (1881-1885)

Question 1

Stalwarts & Half-Breeds

Answer 1

• By the election, the Republican Party was divided over who should be Hayes successor
• Split into 2 factions: Stalwarts and Half-Breeds
• Stalwarts: supported Senator Roscoe Conkling who supported the corrupt ‘Spoils System’ and the ambitions of Grant to make a political comeback
• Half-Breeds were reformist minded and were grouped around Senator James Blaine, wanted to reform the spoils system

Question 2

The 1880 Election

Answer 2

• James Garfield: Governor of Ohio which both factions of the Republicans could support
• Chester Arthur was his running mate
• Fourth consecutive Republican win since 1868
• The margin of Garfield’s victory by the popular vote was extremely close, won by merely 10,000

Question 3

Garfield’s Civil Service Reforms

Answer 3

• Supported Hayes’ reform of the civil services, believed it was damaging the Presidency
• Put him in direct conflict with Senator Conkling who dispensed patronage in NYC, including New York Customs House
• Garfield submitted his appointments which included many of Conkling’s friends and his arch-rival enemy William H. Robinson to run the New York Customs House
• Conkling protested this decision but failed leading him to resign
• Resigned in protest believing he would easily win with re-election and New York Republicans however he was wrong and Garfield’s choice of Robinson was elected
• Victory over Stalwarts

Question 4

Garfield’s Assassination

Answer 4

• Assassinated by a mentally unstable religious fanatic, Charles Guiteau
• Claimed to be acting on behalf of Stalwarts
• Believed Garfield owned him a patronage position in the diplomatic corps and that the president’s political policies would destroy the Republican Party
• Guiteau fired 2 shots whilst Garfield was boarding a train in Washington on July 1881
• Wounds to his stomach should have been harmless
• Incompetent medical treatment caused a fatal infection
• Died 19th September 1881
• Guiteau was convicted of murder and hanged 30th June 1881

Question 5

The Chinese Exclusion Act
(1882)

Answer 5

• Passed by Congress
• Would have made Chinese immigration illegal for 20 years
• Would have made Chinese immigrants permanent aliens by excluding them from US citizenship
• Arthur vetoed the bill, signed a revised bill that was not as harsh

Question 6

The Tariff Act (1883)

Answer 6

• Arthur also tried to lower tariff rates so that the government wouldn’t be surprised by annual surpluses of revenue
• Congress raised about as many as it trimmed
• Arthur signed the Tariff Act which only reduced tariffs by an average of 1.47%

Question 7

The Pendleton Act (1883)

Answer 7

• Arthur continued the civil service reform
• Democratic Senator: George Pendleton, author of this act
• First law specifically intended to begin the professional handling of the civil service
• Arthur struck a strong blow against political corruption
• He pushed for the passage of the Act and signed it readily
• Creation of the first Civil Service Commission was the beginning of the end of the spoils system
• Act called for meritocracy even if the White House changed political parties