By nine o’clock, Secretary of State Blaine, Secretary of War Robert Lincoln, and Postmaster General James called upon the new President, and journeyed with him later in the day to Elberon.
On September 21st, President Arthur accompanied the funeral train to Washington. He again went to the home of Senator John P. Jones, of Nevada, and on Thursday, September 22d, repeated the oath of office given by Chief Justice Waite. Two former presidents, Grant and Hayes, were present at this ceremony, which occurred in the Vice President’s room in the Senate wing at the Capitol. The Bible was handed him by the clerk of the Supreme Court. President Arthur at once issued his inaugural address and a proclamation on the death of President Garfield.
Arthur had been an active Grant adherent in 1880, but when Garfield was nominated, he was chosen for second place, not only because he happened to be Garfield’s choice, but because there was hope of appeasing the strong “Stalwart” faction of the Republican party. However, this plan did not heal the breach. Instead, the bitter contest in the Senate, over which Vice President Arthur had presided, led to such dissatisfaction, despite the Vice President’s efforts at harmony, that the Garfield Cabinet was on the point of dissolution when the tragedy turned the tide of criticism of the President and his policies into sympathy, and by the time Chester Arthur assumed the title rôle, prosperity was full upon the land and political animosities were dormant, apparently forgotten. He quickly proved himself able to cope with the situation, and directed affairs in a dignified and statesmanlike manner.
Chester Alan Arthur was of a different type from any of his predecessors. He has been called the most elegant, polished, and courtly gentleman that ever filled the presidential office. He was a native of Vermont, having been born at Fairfield, Franklin County, on October 5, 1830, and was the oldest child in a family of two sons and five daughters. Doubtless, much of his grace of manner was an inheritance from his father, William Arthur, born in Ballymena, County of Antrim, Ireland, who was a Baptist minister and also an author.
Chester Arthur’s boyhood was not unusual. His early education was conducted at home under the supervision of his father, who supplied most of the tutoring. He went to Union College, from which he was graduated in 1848, and was an active member of the Psi Upsilon Society. While in college, he added to his slender means by teaching a country school. In 1852, he was admitted to the bar, and shortly after entered into a partnership, in New York, with a friend, Henry D. Gardner. This connection lasted until the close of the Civil War, when Mr. Arthur continued the business of the firm alone.
As soon as he had established himself in a lucrative business, his romance with Miss Ellen Lewis Herndon, of Virginia, culminated with their marriage on October 29, 1859. Miss Herndon was the daughter of a distinguished Virginia naval officer, Captain William Lewis Herndon, who was lost at sea after winning fame in the exploration of the Amazon. She had a lovely voice, charming Southern manner, splendid ancestry, and a girlish beauty that made her the ideal of Mr. Arthur’s dreams; while he, with his distinguished bearing, six feet two and a half inches of height, handsome features, and courtly manners, was the type of lover to fill the measure of any girl’s ideal.
After their marriage and romantic honeymoon, they installed themselves in a home on Lexington Avenue where the charm of her voice and the grace of her manner with his genius as a host and prince of hospitality drew about them a delightful coterie of interesting people, particularly those distinguished in arts, music, letters, and social life in New York City.
During the Civil War, Mr. Arthur served on the staff of Governor E. D. Morgan, of New York City, as engineer in chief. He was later made Inspector General, and in January, 1862, was promoted to the position of Quartermaster General. His task in equipping thousands of volunteers was arduous and difficult, and brought him much praise for the businesslike efficiency with which it was conducted. His war account, notwithstanding its length, owing to the great number of men equipped, was the first audited, and that without the reduction of one dollar, while those of other states were cut in varying amounts ranging from one million to ten million dollars.
He made it a rule to accept neither gifts nor favours, though many handsome presents were sent him, and he was poorer at the close of this service than before the term began. He was also inspector of New York troops in the field on the staff of Major General Hunt, of the Army of the Potomac. After the war, he resumed his law practice with great success, gaining a national reputation through the important legal cases he handled, and was for a time counsel to the Board of Tax Commissioners, who paid him a salary of $10,000 a year.
He received the appointment of Collector of the Port of New York in 1871 from President Grant, and his reappointment in 1875 was confirmed by the Senate.