Who Was James Garfield Vice President ?
James Garfield’s death placed his vice pPresident, Chester Alan Arthur, as the 21st President of the United States. Before coming into politics, Arthur first worked as a lawyer, and was a member of the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party. Members of this faction opposed Rutherford B. Hayes’ civil service reform. |
His kinship to the Stalwarts created suspicion for sometime after the death of President Garfield. This is due to the statement of Charles Guiteau, the person who assassinated James Garfield. He exclaimed upon his arrest, “I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts! I did it and I want to be arrested! Arthur is President now.” For some time, people were in doubt. They thought that it was probably him or his followers who planned the death of Garfield since the Stalwarts were against Half-Breeds, the faction that Garfield belonged to.
This suspicion of his intention died down when he followed up the programs initiated by James Garfield. On March 4, 1885, he took his oath as President and during his presidency, he desired to be independent from all the factions that were in argument at that time. Thinking that it was the only way for people to accept him and gain their trust.
He passed the Pendleton Civil Service Act. Through this act, the title, “The Father of Civil Service” was given to him. This Act placed government employees on the merit system: the system of hiring employees based on their skill to do a job rather than their connections. Acceptance to a job was based on a competitive exam. This gained him the admiration of many during his time, as Alezander K. McClure stated in his writing, "No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted, and no one ever retired… more generally respected."
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