Became a lawyer joining the firm of his friend of his fathers, staunch abolitionist. Arthur won the case that desegregated number city street cars. During the civil war, when many were enrhythming. Thises on government contracts he was an honest and efficient quartermaster for the union army, but in years following the would his quest for wealth led him down a darker road. He became a top lieutenant to the allpowerful boss of the new york republican machine. At conklins urging, in 1872 he was appoint collector over thank you new york custom house, the largest single federal office in the nation and a fount of job and fairs that was rotten with corruption. When the custom house find merchants for violation, chet arthur took a cut. Lived in a world of tiffany silver, fine carriages and grand balls balls and had hats and coats importlandded from lon do and owned at least 80 pairs of trouser. When an old college contractsmate item him his deputy was corrupt, chet waved him away. He he said youre a goodygood use fellow with a high morality that others cannot reach. Ruther for b. Hayes fired him. Our theirs political career seemed to be over put in un1880, gaap leaders wreck red im. When republicans gathered in chicago to pick their president ial nominee, james garfield, upset former president grant and emerged as a surprise choice. Party elders were desperate to apiece conklin who was a strong grant supporter to win new york, the most populist state in the union. The second place on the ticket seemed to be a safe spot for con lynns trunkies, garfield was young and vigorous, they home his an re residentan Party Nominee and the arraignams true. Ed in november. This is when president took office in march and a few months after garfield took office, on the morning of july 2, 1881, a deranged Office Seeker named chart shot president garfield in a Washington Railroad station. The arthurs horror, gute ay was arrested he claimed membership in the Republican Party and expressed satisfaction that arthur would be president. And some newspapers accused arthur and conklin of conspiring to kill garfield. Garfield survived but he was northally wind. For months as he lay dying in the white house, americans prayed for their fallen leader and trembled at the thought of conklins stooge leading the nation. Andrew white wrote, it was the common saying of that time among those who knew him best, chet arthur, president of the snot good god. Arthur had never coveted the presidency and could not conceive of leading the country asianed so appearing in public, fearing his own life might be in danger. His friends worried he was on the verge of an emotional collapse. At the end of august 1881, as garfields condition deteriorated, arthur received a letter from a fellow new yorker, a husbands 31yearold woman named julia sand, sand was the unmarried eighth daughter of Christian Henry sand, german immigrant 0 who rows to become president of the metropolitan Gas Light Company of new york. Since 1880 see lived at 46th 46th east 74th street opened by her brother, theodore sand, banker. At the pampered daughter of a wealthy father she read french enjoyed poetry and vacationed in saratoga and newport. But the time she wrote arthur was wasnt invalid, plagued by ailmented that kept her am home. She was excludessed from public life but followed politics closely and had an especially keen interest in Chester Arthur. Arthur never met sand or heard of her. They were complete strangers but already words moved him. Id like to read a little bit from the first letter that julie sand sent to Chester Arthur. I think this letter and all of her letters are extraordinary. She writes the hours of gar feels life are numbered. Before this meets your eye you may be president. The people are bowed in grief but do you realize it . Not so much because he is dying, as because you are his successor. What president ever entered office under circumstances so sad that the day he was shot, the thought rows in a thousand mind you my be the instigate county of the foul act. Is that not human millation deeper than any bullet . Yourbe friend said arthur must resign. He cannot accept office with such a suspicion arresting upon him and then your opponents say arthur will try to do right. He wont citied, though, making a man president , not change him. But julia sand did not share that pessimistic view. She said, but making a man president can change them. If hairs a spar of true noblity in you, now is the occasion to lit shine. Facing your better nature forces know write to you but not to beg you to resign. Do what is more difficult and more brave, reform. It us not the proof of highest goodness, never to have done wrong. But it is a proof of it, sometime in ones contrary career to pause and ponder to rex nice evil and turn against and is devote the remainder of ones thrive that only which is secure exalted. Such resolution of the soul are not common. No step towards them in ease is in the hum drum drift of daily life theyre impossible. Once in a while, there comes a crisis which renders miracles feasible. The great tidal wave of sorrow which has rolled over the country has swept you laos from old moorings and sent you on the mountain top alive. She was most worried about Civil Service reform politicians doled out government jobs to loyal party hacks regardless of their qualifications. The nations intel legal elect believed without Civil Service reform american democracy was doomed. They wanted to destroy the spoil system to root out patronage, and award federal jobs bailed on competitive exams, not political connection otherwise contributions. Now every more than a decade of struggle they watched in horror ross conklins prepared prepared to bring new york politics into the white house. Sam believed arthurs action or failure to act would define his presidency. The vital question is Civil Service reform, she wrote 0 arthur in january 1883. The vital question before you is howow will meet it. She goes on in this letter, on Civil Service rear form reform and says, evasion in any form will be a proof of weakness, yet if you fight the rampant evil, though more than half the country will back you, you would dial its your own risk. Are you a coward . Do you fear to face the same danger that garfield face . It is for you to choose. Are you content to sit like a snake charmer and let leaguesome sir spents about you, priding yourself on them that not one of them dare sting you . Identity rather thing of you like st. George in shining armor, striking death to the heart of the dragon. Still, it seemed unlikely, if not impossible, that Chester Arthur would disavow the spoil system that had been the whole basis of his political career. As Vice President , arthur has nod let today to use his position to help his new york cronies and conklin and his associates looked forward to reaping the benefits. Arthur would longer the man he had been before garfield was shot in july 1881. As president he shocked everybody and became an unlikely champion of Civil Service reform, laying the groundwork for the progressive president s, especially Teddy Roosevelt, who came after him he also again the much needed rebuild offering the u. S. Navy which set us on the road to becoming a world power. Now im starting to stray into the heart of the book and i want everybody to read it. So im going to stop there i will say that julia sand continued to write to arthur and the president heeded much of her advice and he even paid hear surprise visit at her home at 46 east 74th street. I want to read one more letter that i loved from julia sand because it demonstrates her incredible intimacy with the man who was president of the united states. This is when she had repeatedly urged him to come visit her, and he had not visited yet and she was a bit offended by that. Are you offend with me, really . Seriously . To the due harsh things ive said to you outweigh all necessary the fact a whole year i have thought of and felt with your in your cares and her pecks advertise that last sum when you were in gloom and seemed almost broken in spirit dirked my best to arouse your manhood and courage, that i had faith in you when hardly anyone who had the welfare of the country at heart, hoped anything good of you . I did not ask you to answer my letters but i knew you could not speak to me on the subjects chose to discuss. But it never crossed my mind until now that you distrusted me. Ashamed of what he had been before he reached the white house, arthur, shortly before his death, ordered that most of his papers be burned, but he spared sands alerts and 2 of them are still at the library of congress. Arthur would not serve a second term. He had earned the enmity of his own machine buds and without win reformer trust. And he secretly had a debilitating kidney illness. That may have dampened his enthusiasm for serving another four years, in any case republican deed clined to nominate him in 1848. By the time he left the white house in march 1885, however, the publics perception of him had been transformed. One newspaper editor wrote, quote no man ever entered the presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted as Chester Allen arthur and no one ever retired from the highest civil trust of the world, more generally respected, alike by political friend and faux. Even mark twain says said it would be hard indeed to better president arthurs administration. If arthur was so great, why has everybody, nearly everybody, forgotten about him . Ive already allude today two reasons the first is he burned his papers, which creates a real challenge for historians. And he served during an era that is foggy in the minds of most americans. Also was very suspicious of the press, not surprisingly, given the way they treated him as gar feel was on his death bed. And he did very little to cultivate the reporters who covered him. Nevertheless i believe that arthur and his story are an important part of american history. I wouldnt have spent four years researching and writing this book if i didnt think so. I also think that even though he happened to be president of the united states, a lot 0 about his story is really timeless and universal and applies to just about anybody etch. He certainly wasnt the first mant and wont be the last and has not been at the last to make moral compromises in a bid for wealth and power. The tension between ethics ethic ambition is a theme that is relevant now as in the 19th century and throughout all of human history. Last year on the eve of the last election, former president barack obama warned voters that the presidency doesnt change a person. He said, quote, who you are, what you are, it doesnt change after you occupy the oval office. It magnifies who you are. It shines a spotlight on who you are. After eight months or so its hard to argue that the presidency has changed donald trump. He seems to be pretty similar to candidate donald trump, for better or worse, but the story of Chester Allen arthur calls into question obamas view. His story of redemption suggests that the presidency can change a person. At least it did once. Ill take questions now and then i id be happy to sign books for those who want me. To thank you. [applause] i was asked to remind people to use the microphone in asking questions. What were the shaddy land deals in new york city and are any of the buildings from them Still Standing in. Well, it wasnt so much buildings. Had a lot to do with where the street car lines were going to go and making sure that he had an ownership stake in the properties before they were bought by the street car companies. The very touching letters of julia sand remind me of a parallel when Lyndon Johnson became president and hellline gambling hagen douglas. She was one of his first phone calls and he was very flusters. Hours after the assassination she said to him, honey, youll do fine. She and Lyndon Johnson had a much closer relationship. I do its interesting you into mention that. I think that judging from julia sands letters she did develop a different kind of feeling for Chester Arthur. Theres no evidence that he reciprocated in any until way but he did show up and visit her, which i think is pretty compelling evidence he really viewed her advice in her letters. Remarkable letters. So glad you included them. Thanks. Thank you for being here. Wanted to ask about physical changes that Chester Arthur made to white house. I understand he put in a tiffany window but most of that is gob and didnt last very long. Thats true, didnt. He was very concerned about his own physical appearance, as i said, he liked clothes, he liked the fine are things in life, and before he moved into the white house, he insist it be redecorated and he called in Louis Tiffany from new york to do the redecorating but very shortly after dish cant remember which president but someone redid the redecorating so didnt last very long, but he cared very much about appearances and style. You mentioned that his early career included a sort of precustoms house period when he seemed to be a pretty good guy, pretty good person. Then he, as you say, succumbed to temptation or whatever, and then is redeemed in the oval office. So, im wondering that says about him, and sort of related to that this is the heart of the question have there on other historians that sort of dispute the role of julia sand in the redemption and think that, yeah, kind of an interesting thing and might, for example, make a good movie i dont know if youre thinking about that but or broadway show. A challenge to that [laughter] is there a challenge to that to the idea of the importance of julia, and what other evidence do we have about his kind of respect for her opinions or the influence of her letters that how often did he write back and is there any a lot of sort of affair to be that they thought thought about things. That is a very good question. There are different elements to it. People do disagree about the impact but the guy who really wrote the seminal our their book in 1975 felt that julia sand had a big impact on arthur, and the evidence to suggest that is there a few things to support that argument. First, he saved the letters. Ordered almost all of his papers burned but he specifically said, save these letters, and the interesting story about the letters is they his son got the letters when arthur died, and they were buried at the bottom of a trunk that was in the basement of his grandson, and the grandson discovered these letters in the 1930s. And recognized their importance and eventually donated them to he library of congress. So i think thats number one, the fact he ordered that the letters be saved. Think number two is the fact he visited here. Extraordinary for the president on the tattoos show up unannounced at your literally at your doorstep and say, to say thank you for your advice. And then i think it nose he didnt always follow her advice bud he very often did follow her advise. It was very specific advice. In many cases she gave him specific advice on specific pieces of legislation which he followed. The challenge with arthur is because he burned his papers theres no diaries, no journal, and we dont know where he wrote back to her, those letters dont survive. The fact he was shot by somebody who was a disappointed Office Seeker and he also was insane, brought home to him i think that sand and arthur were . No not at all i. I dont think anybody knew they were. I guess the other thing i wonder is about where and how we might find miss sand, some of us it was fun to get to know him as a person and i really do like him. By the end i liked him. I love history and reading president ial biographies and Teddy Roosevelt is one of the more Extraordinary People you could ever imagine. If theres anybody that perennial question, who would you want to have a meal with, dead or alive, i would say Teddy Roosevelt. I dont think with all do respect to my friend here, dont have any friends remind me of Teddy Roosevelt. Chester arthur is a very human character. We all have friends like Chester Arthur, even if they dont have the facial hair, and i think thats hes a likeable person. I think he is certainly imperfect, and he wasnt necessarily an extraordinary person, like Teddy Roosevelt was in terms of schools and interests and energy, but he was i think a good person who strayed off the right path, as many people do and then found his way back when he had this tremendous responsibility thrust upon him. Again, think he was as surprised and scared as anybody when this landed in his lap, really, unexpectedly. Correct me if im wrong, but is a recall, the election of 1876, hayes won that contested election. Sort of. On agreeing to pull the troops the federal troops out of the south. Right. Which he did. And then the south started instituting black codes and so forth. Given arthurs fighting for the desegregation ofthe trolleys, did given his background, did he do anything as president to counter what hat the dee reconstruction . Thats a really good question. I didnt mention that but during his presidency, the Supreme Court struck down the Civil Rights Act of 1875, and surprisingly you read in the newspapers of the time and even the most progressive republicans and progressive newspapers felt it wasnt such a big decan the law had overreached by trying to in essence tell the private sector what it could do in terms of barring discrimination nice in private sectar. So its strange when the Supreme Court struck that down, i expected in the newspapers to see outrage in the New York Times and the herald and it wasnt there arthur did he very forcefully said, i disagree with this decision and i would be very supportive of any law that Congress Might pass that would achieve the same ends and pass muster with the Supreme Court. Now, again, to getting back to him as sort of imperfect, i dont theres not a lot of evidence the pushed really hard for that piece of legislation . Although his was a time when president s didnt congress was more powerful visavis the president. He had the right sentiments and was in other ways example, he contributed money to black scholarships for black students. Invited a choir from an africanamerican church to come and sing and was apparently moved to tears by the performance. Were looking back from the 21st century but by the standards of the time and for republicans of his time, he was pretty progressive on matters of race. Thank you. Who was arthurs secretary of state . And during our thunders presidency, did he have any notable achievements in Foreign Policy . He didnt a guy named housen was the secretary of state who still has i believe theres still someone of that name in congress. Its a very long political family in new jersey. He didnt dish didnt pay a lot of attention to Foreign Policy. I think his major Foreign Policy achievement, if you can define it broadly, is what he did to rebuild the u. S. Navy. He recognized the u. S. Could never be could never degree economically the way it might grow economically the way it might or become a global fours without a navy. This is a time when the european powers were building steel ships, and at the time when arthur took office, we mostly had wooden ships and most of it was very the navy was very heavily weighted toward officers because much like the rest of government, it was jobs and officerships were awarded to people based on their political connections, not on their skills. So he really set us down the road toured having a real navy and that is his i main, Foreign Policywise, if not only in his administration but the succeeding ones. Any other questions . Sure. Just wondered, as an author and imaginative person, if you would contrast modern opinion polling versus these very personal sounding letters. Opinion polling, you mean in terms of the impact on president s . There you do hear about president s saving certain letters, being struck by letters from certain people and maybe having those people come to visit or having them for the state of the union as guests on the state of the union address. Ive never come across an example like this, somebody who burned Everything Else but said, save these papers. I think that as i said, think theres ample evidence that theseler had an impact on him. This was not an era where there was polling the way we think of it. But the microphone . How did that correspondence reveal her own politics . How would you describe her . She was a republican but part of the reform wing of the Republican Party. She was opposed to conklin and the machine and actually said some nasty things about grant his presidency in her letters as well. So, she was squarely in reformer camp and wanted him to join her the. Thank you. Interesting parallels harry truman, a machine politician who con offend expectations. Yeah, as you note, truman also in addition to being a machine politician, in missouri, certainly came to office unexpectedly and was by all accounts unprepared. Fdr didnt share a lot of information with him. Didnt know about the manhattan project, that was a surprise to him. In that respect there is that parallel. Both came from sort of humble and maybe checkered political pasts, and landed in office not by accident but certainly as a great surprise to everybody and to themselves, and also there were very low expectations for truman as there were low expectations for arthur there are parallels. Anyone else . Thank you very much for coming. I really appreciate. [inaudible conversations] thank you for your patience. Were delighted to be gathered here today. I dont want to slow is down, but i do want to make sure that all of you know a little bit about where you are today. Can i just get a sense of how many of you are at Brooklyn Historical society for the first time . Wow. Fantastic. Welcome. Welcome to all of our oldtimers as well. A few of our Board Members are in the audience, so were delighted be that as well. Those who have never been here before i want to give you a sense of this i
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