Who was the real Chester Arthur – and what was his relationship with James Garfield?

When US President James Garfield was shot in July 1881, few Americans expected his vice-president, Chester A Arthur, to be able to manage the crisis that followed.

Known as a New York Republican party bureaucrat, with a background in patronage and machine politics, Arthur had little public confidence backing him. But when Garfield died of his wounds later that year, Arthur was thrust into the spotlight as the 21st President of the United States.

Arthur story simmers in the background of Netflix’s 2025 drama Death by Lightning, the story of the assassination of Garfield (played by Michael Shannon) at the hands of frustrated political hopeful Charles Guiteau (played by Matthew Macfadyen).

In Death by Lightning, Chester Arthur (played by Nick Offerman) is portrayed as something of a low man pushed in high office, a Republican enforcer famed for his carousing. But how does real history remember him?

Who was the real Chester Arthur?

Prior to becoming the 21st US President, serving from 1881–85, Chester Alan Arthur had been a lawyer and political organiser from New York, and was closely associated with the patronage system of the Republican Party.

As president, however, his administration is perhaps best known for passing the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act – ending the easily abused ‘spoils system’ of political patronage that he had once supported. His presidency is often viewed as a meaningful step toward cleaner government and a more professional civil service.

Arthur was born on 5 October 1829 in Fairfield, Vermont, as one of nine children. His father, Reverend William Arthur, was a Baptist minister from Northern Ireland. His mother, Malvina Stone Arthur, came from a New England farming family.

He attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, where he graduated in 1848. He taught at a school for several years before studying law in New York City. In 1854, in his mid-twenties, he was admitted to the bar.

Arthur’s early legal work included a notable civil rights case. In 1855, he represented Elizabeth Jennings, a Black schoolteacher who had been forced off a streetcar reserved for white passengers.

Arthur won the case, helping to bring an end to racial segregation on New York’s public transit system.

Why was Chester Arthur so powerful in the Republican party?

When the American Civil War began in 1861, Arthur joined the Union cause and would be eventually appointed Quartermaster General for the State of New York, where he oversaw the supply and organisation of troops.

He performed the role effectively and established a reputation for reliability and administrative skill.

His work brought him into contact with New York’s Republican political machine, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who headed the Stalwart faction of the party. The Stalwarts believed in the traditional system of political patronage (known as the spoils system) under which party loyalty was rewarded with public appointments.

In 1871, Arthur was appointed Collector of the Port of New York, one of the most powerful federal positions in the country. The office was responsible for collecting customs revenues and appointing thousands of employees. Arthur used the post to strengthen his political connections, and became a well-known figure in New York society.

Though some critics accused him of using the office to entrench party interests, he was never personally accused of corruption.

In 1878, the incumbent US President, Rutherford B Hayes, who had promised reform, removed Arthur from the position as part of his efforts to reduce the influence of politics over what should have been administrative positions.

Though a political setback, Arthur remained loyal to Conkling and the Stalwart faction.

How did Chester Arthur become Garfield’s running mate?

By 1880, the Republican Party was divided. The Stalwarts, led by Conkling, supported the return of former president Ulysses S Grant for a third term. The reform-minded Half-Breed faction, led by Maine senator James Blaine, wanted new leadership and a move away from patronage politics.

When the Republican convention in Chicago rolled around in June 1880, there was deadlock. Days passed. So did 35 ballots. A canny compromise was needed, and that was ‘The Man From Ohio’, James Garfield: a senior congressman and former Union general.

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When Garfield was nominated for president, Arthur, representing the Stalwart faction, was chosen as his running mate to balance the ticket.

The compromise proved successful. The Garfield–Arthur ticket won the 1880 election by a narrow margin, defeating the Democratic nominee, Winfield Scott Hancock, and securing a Republican victory after a closely contested campaign. Arthur’s nomination had helped unite the party’s factions, at least temporarily, behind a single ticket.

James Garfield and Chester Arthur’s relationship: did they get along?

Though James Garfield and Chester Arthur were allies on the Republican ticket, they had little in common.

Garfield was in favour of party and government reform, and sought to reduce the power of party bosses, while Arthur was deeply entrenched within the political system that Garfield wanted to change.

The two men had a distant working relationship. Arthur’s main duty as vice-president was to preside over the Senate, and he had little influence on administration policy.

After the election, tensions between Garfield and Arthur’s Stalwart faction came to the fore over the appointment of the Collector of the Port of New York (the same office that Arthur had once held).

Garfield nominated William H Robertson, a Half-Breed reformer, to the position. Conkling and his allies opposed the nomination, arguing that it undermined their influence in New York politics. Arthur, out of past loyalty to Conkling and seeking to protect his own reputation as a Stalwart, supported the protest against Garfield’s decision. The dispute became public, and was damaging to the party unity, but ultimately Conkling’s protest failed.

The episode weakened the Stalwarts and left Arthur politically isolated. He might have remained that way, had it not been for the actions of a man named Charles Guiteau.

On 2 July 1881, only four months after taking office, Garfield was shot at a Washington DC railway station. The shooter, Guiteau, was a political office-seeker who claimed to be acting on behalf of the Stalwart cause.

“I am a Stalwart,” Guiteau shouted, “Arthur is now President of the United States.”

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How did Chester Arthur react to Garfield’s assassination?

Although Chester Arthur had no connection to the assassin, many Americans recognised that he stood to benefit from the crime. Public suspicion turned toward him, and he received hostile letters and threats.

He was hurt by the accusations and strongly denied any sympathies for Guiteau, rejecting the idea that he wished Garfield harm.

Garfield survived for almost three months after the shooting, before succumbing to his wounds on 19 September 1881.

News of the president’s death reached Arthur in New York, and he was sworn in at his home in the early hours of the next morning.

But, from all his disagreements with Garfield, public confidence in Arthur was on the floor.

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How did Garfield’s assassination shape Chester Arthur’s time as president?

Aware of the doubts surrounding him after Garfield's assassination, Chester Arthur actively sought to position himself as a unifying figure of fairness and restraint.

His administration was moderate, orderly and more independent than had been expected.

His most significant reform was his support for the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883. This introduced competitive examinations for many federal jobs, and made it illegal to dismiss employees for political reasons. It marked the beginning of a professional civil service in the United States.

Although it was Garfield’s supporters who had pushed for reform, it was Arthur, once a beneficiary and proponent of the patronage system, who signed the bill and enforced it. It was a sign of his seriousness to protect Garfield’s wishes after his death.

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In other measures, Arthur began rebuilding the US Navy, which had fallen into decline since the Civil War. His administration authorised the construction of new steel warships and established the basis for a modern fleet. He also undertook a renovation of the White House, bringing a new sense of formality and remaking it as a symbol of political and social importance.

Arthur also vetoed an early version of the Chinese Exclusion Act that would have imposed a 20-year ban on immigration, which he argued violated treaty agreements. Congress later passed a revised version with a 10-year ban, which Arthur signed into law.

In all, Arthur was widely regarded as a careful and pragmatic president. His administration was free of major scandal, and his measured style served to restore some measure of public trust in the political system.

Arthur’s declining health and the end of his presidency

In 1882, Arthur was diagnosed with Bright’s disease, a chronic kidney condition that was then incurable. He kept the diagnosis private, but it affected his energy and outlook. Figures close to him noted that he seemed tired and subdued.

By 1884, his political position had weakened further. Despite his best efforts, reformers remained suspicious of his past, while Stalwarts felt betrayed by his role in the reform. Recognising the facts at hand, Arthur made little effort to seek re-nomination.

The Republican Party chose James G Blaine as its presidential nominee instead, who went on to lose to Grover Cleveland. Arthur then retired to New York City, living quietly in a brownstone on Lexington Avenue.

He died soon afterwards, on 18 November 1886, aged 57. Upon his death, even his former critics acknowledged the integrity and restraint that he had brought to the highest office of the United States of America.

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