Download or read book The Unexpected President written by Scott S. Greenberger and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2017-09-12 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When President James Garfield was shot in 1881, nobody expected Vice President Chester A. Arthur to become a strong and effective president, a courageous anti-corruption reformer, and an early civil rights advocate. Despite his promising start as a young man, by his early fifties Chester A. Arthur was known as the crooked crony of New York machine boss Roscoe Conkling. For years Arthur had been perceived as unfit to govern, not only by critics and the vast majority of his fellow citizens but by his own conscience. As President James A. Garfield struggled for his life, Arthur knew better than his detractors that he failed to meet the high standard a president must uphold. And yet, from the moment President Arthur took office, he proved to be not just honest but brave, going up against the very forces that had controlled him for decades. He surprised everyone--and gained many enemies--when he swept house and took on corruption, civil rights for blacks, and issues of land for Native Americans. A mysterious young woman deserves much of the credit for Arthur's remarkable transformation. Julia Sand, a bedridden New Yorker, wrote Arthur nearly two dozen letters urging him to put country over party, to find "the spark of true nobility" that lay within him. At a time when women were barred from political life, Sand's letters inspired Arthur to transcend his checkered past--and changed the course of American history. This beautifully written biography tells the dramatic, untold story of a virtually forgotten American president. It is the tale of a machine politician and man-about-town in Gilded Age New York who stumbled into the highest office in the land, only to rediscover his better self when his nation needed him.

Download or read book Chester A Arthur written by Charnan Simon and published by Children's Press(CT). This book was released on 1989 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the life of the young lawyer who rose up through New York's political machine to become the twenty-first president of the United States.

Download or read book The Presidencies of James A Garfield Chester A Arthur written by Justus D. Doenecke and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 1981 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first single volume to focus on the presidencies of both James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. Drawing from a host of studies on the foreign and domestic policies of the nation during the Gilded Age, as well as from his own primary research, the author presents a somewhat revisionist look at Garfield and Arthur—revisionist in that he gives the reader a renewed appreciation of both men. Far from being cynical spoilsmen or naive incompetents, individuals whose presidencies provide studies in ineptitude, Garfield and Arthur emerge as men of considerable ability. While making no claims of greatness, Doenecke maintains that each was a significant transitional figure, playing a crucial role as the institution of the presidency moved from the weak leadership of Andrew Johnson to the forceful direction of Theodore Roosevelt. According to Doenecke, Garfield saw the office of chief executive primarily in administrative terms, and his great battle was over keeping the power of appointment in his own hands. His victory over the Stalwarts enhanced both the power and prestige of the office. His knowledge of how government worked was unmatched; long before Woodrow Wilson made his mark, Garfield was "the scholar in politics." The diplomacy of Secretary of State James G. Blaine comes under critical scrutiny. Doenecke evaluates his performance in the Chile-Peru War (War of the Pacific), the Guatemala-Mexico dispute, the isthmian-canal issue, Irish-American activities in Britain, and efforts to secure markets in Korea. ,br>Garfield was assassinated less than six months after he entered office; he had yet to be tested on major issues of public policy. Chester A. Arthur was ill prepared to be chief executive, was in poor health much of the time while he was in office, and was faced with a hopelessly divided party. Nevertheless, he was one of the nation's great political surprises. His administration pioneered in the development of the navy, sought foreign markets for American surpluses, fostered civil-service reform, and pressed for a scientific tariff. Doenecke devotes one chapter to the spoils system and the background to the Pendleton Act, one to Arthur's strategy regarding the South, and then offers an in-depth analysis of diplomacy during Arthur's tenure. During the presidencies of Garfield and Arthur, the United States attempted to intervene in a war between Chile and Peru, sought to turn Nicaragua into a protectorate, supplied leading advisers to Madagascar and Korea, and took a major part in the Congo conference of 1884. In examining these activities, even while pointing to uncoordinated statecraft and inept diplomacy, Doenecke challenges the long-held view that, from 1881 to 1885, the nation was withdrawn and insular. His fresh perspective on the Garfield and Arthur years will be of considerable interest to historians of the Gilded Age.

Download or read book Chester A Arthur written by Carol Brunelli and published by . This book was released on 2020-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thorough, illustrated biography discussing the president's childhood, his career, his family, and his term as the twenty-first president of the United States. Includes a table of contents, time line, phonetic glossary, sources for further research, an index, and detailed captions and sidebars to aid in comprehension.

Download or read book Accidental Presidents written by Jared Cohen and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2020-01-28 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This New York Times bestselling “deep dive into the terms of eight former presidents is chock-full of political hijinks—and déjà vu” (Vanity Fair) and provides a fascinating look at the men who came to the office without being elected to it, showing how each affected the nation and world. The strength and prestige of the American presidency has waxed and waned since George Washington. Eight men have succeeded to the presidency when the incumbent died in office. In one way or another they vastly changed our history. Only Theodore Roosevelt would have been elected in his own right. Only TR, Truman, Coolidge, and LBJ were re-elected. John Tyler succeeded William Henry Harrison who died 30 days into his term. He was kicked out of his party and became the first president threatened with impeachment. Millard Fillmore succeeded esteemed General Zachary Taylor. He immediately sacked the entire cabinet and delayed an inevitable Civil War by standing with Henry Clay’s compromise of 1850. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded our greatest president, sided with remnants of the Confederacy in Reconstruction. Chester Arthur, the embodiment of the spoils system, was so reviled as James Garfield’s successor that he had to defend himself against plotting Garfield’s assassination; but he reformed the civil service. Theodore Roosevelt broke up the trusts. Calvin Coolidge silently cooled down the Harding scandals and preserved the White House for the Republican Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression. Harry Truman surprised everybody when he succeeded the great FDR and proved an able and accomplished president. Lyndon B. Johnson was named to deliver Texas electorally. He led the nation forward on Civil Rights but failed on Vietnam. Accidental Presidents shows that “history unfolds in death as well as in life” (The Wall Street Journal) and adds immeasurably to our understanding of the power and limits of the American presidency in critical times.

Download or read book Chester Arthur written by Heidi M.D. Elston and published by ABDO. This book was released on 2024-08-01 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This biography introduces readers to Chester Arthur, including his early political career and key events from Arthur's administration including improvements to the US Navy, and the Pendleton Civil Service Act. Information about his childhood, family, personal life, and retirement years is included. A timeline, fast facts, and sidebars provide additional information. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Big Buddy Books is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Download or read book A President in Yellowstone written by Frank H. Goodyear and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2013-07-08 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the morning of July 30, 1883, President Chester A. Arthur embarked on a trip of historic proportions. His destination was Yellowstone National Park, established by an act of Congress only eleven years earlier. No sitting president had ever traveled this far west. Arthur’s host and primary guide would be Philip H. Sheridan, the famed Union general. Also slated to join the expedition was a young photographer, Frank Jay Haynes. This elegant—and fascinating—book showcases Haynes’s remarkable photographic album from their six-week journey. A premier nineteenth-century landscape photographer, F. Jay Haynes, as he was known professionally, originally compiled the leather-bound album as a commemorative piece. As only six copies are known to exist, it has rarely been seen. The album’s 104 images are accompanied by captions written by General Sheridan’s brother, Colonel Michael V. Sheridan, who wrote daily dispatches that were distributed by the Associated Press. In his informative introduction, historian Frank H. Goodyear III provides background about the excursion and explains the historic and aesthetic significance of Haynes’s photographs. He then re-creates Arthur’s journey by reintroducing Haynes’s stunning images—along with Sheridan’s original captions—including views of the Tetons and other landmarks; portraits of President Arthur, General Sheridan, and fellow travelers engaged in activities along the route; and images of the Shoshone and Arapaho leaders who gathered to greet the visiting party. Published on the occasion of the reopening of the Haynes Photography Shop in Yellowstone, A President in Yellowstone offers a unique entry into the park’s storied past.

Download or read book The American President written by Philip B. Kunhardt and published by Riverhead Books (Hardcover). This book was released on 2000 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the lives of the presidents and the evolution of the presidency.

Download or read book Chester A Arthur written by John M. Pafford and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chester Alan Arthur, surely our unlikeliest president, may have been saved from complete obscurity only by the mutton-chop whiskers that stand out among the full-bearded visages of late-nineteenth-century presidents. But as this highly readable portrait of Arthur and his age reveals, duty’s unexpected call turned the quintessential patronage politician into a statesman who skillfully guided America’s first steps on the road to becoming a world power. No one is likely to follow Arthur’s path to the White House again. A product of the spoils system that once governed the federal civil service, Arthur had been rewarded for his loyalty to the Republican machine with the most lucrative patronage position in the country—customs collector of the Port of New York. In 1880, having never held elective office, he was chosen as James Garfield’s running mate in a bid to heal a factional rift in the party. When Garfield’s death from an assassin’s bullet early in his term made Arthur president, dismayed observers expected the worst. Instead, this “accidental” president rose to an unexpected level of principle and accomplishment and led his country to the threshold of greatness. In John Pafford’s absorbing study, you’ll learn: Why the wounded President Garfield’s incapacity sent Vice President Arthur and the U.S. government into uncharted constitutional waters Why a president who owed his career to the patronage system championed civil service reform and remade the federal government How Arthur’s far-sighted determination to rebuild America’s shriveled navy changed the course of U.S. history Why massive immigration from Asia inflamed American politics and how Arthur used his veto power to moderate Congress’s response How dramatic developments in the 1880s in theology, science, economics, and political philosophy set the stage for sweeping cultural change in America Only fifteen years after the United States emerged from the rubble of civil war, Chester Arthur—to all appearances the embodiment of unreformed machine politics—emerged from obscurity to lead the nation through one of the most dynamic stretches of its history. And though his career was cut short by a fatal disease diagnosed after his first year in office, his quiet prudence and devotion to duty earned him the respect of his contemporaries and an honored place among American presidents.

Download or read book America s First Freedom Rider written by Jerry Mikorenda and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-12-17 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1854, traveling was full of danger. Omnibus accidents were commonplace. Pedestrians were regularly attacked by the Five Points’ gangs. Rival police forces watched and argued over who should help. Pickpockets, drunks and kidnappers were all part of the daily street scene in old New York. Yet somehow, they endured and transformed a trading post into the Empire City. None of this was on Elizabeth Jennings’s mind as she climbed the platform onto the Chatham Street horsecar. But her destination and that of the country took a sudden turn when the conductor told her to wait for the next car because it had “her people” in it. When she refused to step off the bus, she was assaulted by the conductor who was aided by a NY police officer. On February 22, 1855, Elizabeth Jennings v. Third Avenue Rail Road case was settled. Seeking $500 in damages, the jury stunned the courtroom with a $250 verdict in Lizzie’s favor. Future US president Chester A. Arthur was Jennings attorney and their lives would be forever onward intertwined. This is the story of what happened that day. It’s also the story of Jennings and Arthur’s families, the struggle for equality, and race relations. It’s the history of America at its most despicable and most exhilarating. Yet few historians know of Elizabeth Jennings or the impact she had on desegregating public transit.

Download or read book Gentleman Boss written by Thomas C. Reeves and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Full-scale political biography of the 21st President, based on newly discovered documents. Shows Arthur to be a master political organizer and patronage boss.

Download or read book Guide to U S Elections written by Deborah Kalb and published by CQ Press. This book was released on 2015-12-24 with total page 5685 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The CQ Press Guide to U.S. Elections is a comprehensive, two-volume reference providing information on the U.S. electoral process, in-depth analysis on specific political eras and issues, and everything in between. Thoroughly revised and infused with new data, analysis, and discussion of issues relating to elections through 2014, the Guide will include chapters on: Analysis of the campaigns for presidency, from the primaries through the general election Data on the candidates, winners/losers, and election returns Details on congressional and gubernatorial contests supplemented with vast historical data. Key Features include: Tables, boxes and figures interspersed throughout each chapter Data on campaigns, election methods, and results Complete lists of House and Senate leaders Links to election-related websites A guide to party abbreviations

Download or read book Grover Cleveland written by Henry F. Graff and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2002-08-20 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fresh look at the only president to serve nonconsecutive terms. Though often overlooked, Grover Cleveland was a significant figure in American presidential history. Having run for President three times and gaining the popular vote majority each time -- despite losing the electoral college in 1892 -- Cleveland was unique in the line of nineteenth-century Chief Executives. In this book, presidential historian Henry F. Graff revives Cleveland's fame, explaining how he fought to restore stature to the office in the wake of several weak administrations. Within these pages are the elements of a rags-to-riches story as well as an account of the political world that created American leaders before the advent of modern media.

Download or read book Our White House written by N.C.B.L.A. and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2010-09-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than one hundred leading authors and illustrators donate their talents in a creative tour de force that is making history. Conceived and co-created by the National Children’s Book and Literary Alliance, this outstanding collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, and poetry melds with an equally stunning array of original art to offer a look at America’s history through the prism of the White House. Starting with a 1792 call for designers and continuing through the present day, these highly engaging writings and illustrations, expressing varied viewpoints and interwoven with key historical events, are a vital resource for family and classroom sharing — and a stirring reminder that the story of the White House is the story of every American. Back matter includes source notes, notes on contributor, and an index.

Download or read book Chester A Arthur written by Charnan Simon and published by Children's Press(CT). This book was released on 1989 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the life of the young lawyer who rose up through New York's political machine to become the twenty-first president of the United States.

Download or read book Chester A Arthur written by Ruth Tenzer Feldman and published by Twenty-First Century Books. This book was released on 2006-10-24 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn about the life of one of our presidents.

Download or read book The Assassination of President Garfield written by and published by . This book was released on 1964 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: