Talk:Chester A. Arthur

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Contents

[edit] Tammany Hall

Was Arthur, a Republican, really a member of Tammany Hall, which is a Democratic organization?

[edit] Popularity

I am no expert on him, but it was noted in a History Channel special that he had an extrememly high approval rating upon leaving office. Perhaps some text as to what caused this, as it stands now he is largely unknown to modern America.

I heard that too... it also stated that 4 young women proposed to him when he left office. is it true or just a rumor? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.80.228.241 (talk • contribs) 19 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] To do

To-do list for Chester A. Arthur: edit · history · watch · refresh

To incorporate in the article:

I see no reason at all to remove the link to President Arthur's wife. --65.73.0.137

[edit] 1829 or 1830

Some sources say 1829 and others say 1830 about Arthur's birth, but this page says nothing about this dispute. Can anyone put any info in?? 66.32.252.184 00:51, 30 Oct 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Chester A. Arthur v. Chester Alan Arthur

Why was this moved to Chester Alan Arthur? --Jiang 01:37, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Because User:Neutrality decided to move it unilaterally.--KrossTalk 10:28, 29 January 2006 (UTC)
I just moved it back.--KrossTalk 00:24, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Canada

Several documentaries now believe they have proof that Arthur was born in Quebec. He assumed

[edit] Cause of Death

According to

Bumgarner, John R. The Health of the Presidents: The 41 United States Presidents Through 1993 from a Physician's Point of View. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland & Company, 1994.

"Arthur's administration was the first to systematically mislead the public about the President's health." In short, the notion that Arthur died of Bright's Disease, as the wiki stated prior to my edit, or that he even had Bright's Disease, has since proven false. He died, in fact, of a cerebral hemorrhage on November 18, 1886.

See "President Chester Arthur: Medical History," http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/t21.htm# --DanielNuyu 09:35, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Some of the information on this page is copied with some changes word for word from the White House Biography.

WhiteHouse.gov

[edit] Which Newport?

The article mentions that he was hobnobbing with the elite of Washington, New York and Newport. Which Newport? There are several on the list in Wikipedia. I assume Newport, Rhode Island, but don't want to make that assumption if incorrect. I suppose it's not that big of a deal, but for completeness sake it would be nice to know. --User:FeanorStar7

[edit] Quote?

Would including the "America: The Book" quote of "Chester A. Arthur: The policies we want, the muttonchops we need. Vote Chester A. Arthur 1880." be relevant or just forced humor? I personally find it funny but it probably doesnt have a place in wikipedia. I'll let others comment should they like, wouldnt add it without consensus. --Cptbuck 00:17, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Introduction

Does anyone think this intro is too long?


[edit] Spoils system

Most of the last paragraph of "Pre-political career" is lifted verbatim from the 4th paragraph of this site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ca21.html

Can you incorporate any of this: "As President, however, Arthur rose above his patronage-dispensing past to promote landmark legislation designed to curb the very spoils system that had been the springboard for his own political rise." from here: http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/hall2/chests.htm I've taught my history classes that because Garfield was killed by a disgruntled office seeker under the spoils system, that Arthur moved strongly to change the system. Even though he himself had benefitted from it he came to see its inherent weaknesses. Am I wrong? Yopienso 06:03, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Citations

I see very few citations here, especially for bits of trivia. For example, the information about four women proposing to him, the 80 pairs of pants thing, the way his middle name was pronounced.. do these come from verifiable sources? If someone was writing from memory or general knowledge, he should have tracked down a source to add here. (Oh, and this goes for the Mark Twain quotation as well.) --Fadedhour 03:36, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Some famous quotes

I added some info on Arthur's promotion to, and occupation of,, the Vice Presidency, including a couple of quotes. I'm surprised that they hadn't been included yet.

Exactly why did you remove them? The crisis was real, the quotes were real, and it's very important to the presidency. I put them back with citiations.

[edit] Presidency section, possible copyvio?

Okay, thanks. I didn't want to delete in case it was copied from here to there or if it was already public domain. --Lyght 00:06, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

He was very stupid and weird.

[edit] Why didn't he have a vice president?

I don't see it in the article --AW 13:16, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

He didn't have one because the constitution didn't provide for the replacement of a VP prior to the 25th amendment. No VP who ascended to the presidency had one prior to Gerald Ford.Montco 15:33, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
Exactly: Garfield was elected President and Arthur Vice President, so when Garfield died and Arthur became President, there was now no Vice President in office and no mechanism for selecting a new one until the next election. Newyorkbrad 16:30, 19 April 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Break with Conkling

I'm surprised there isn't more discussion about how he broke from Senator Roscoe Conkling and the "Stalwarts" after ascending to the Presidency -- something that showed quite a bit of character and took a bit of political courage. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.36.48.168 (talk • contribs).

Be bold! Go ahead, find a source, and add the material yourself. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 03:35, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Die Hard reference

I came to Wikipedia today to find out who the 21st president was, because I was watching Die Hard With A Vengeance. I found a well written article, followed by a reference to the movie that sent me here. I love Wikipedia. --76.18.66.115 19:07, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Canadian??

It should be noted: Even though Arthur may have been born in Canada, he was born a US citizen - thus he still would've been eligible for the Vice Presidenty & Presidency. GoodDay (talk) 16:30, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

I fixed that. Wikipedia should not be promoting the urban legend that one must born in the United States to become President. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.78.15.141 (talk) 10:16, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Actually, these days you do indeed need to be born in the United States to run for President. However, this rule was not always so and has changed over time. During President Arthur's time, it was not so. It is not an "Urban Legend," it is just something that has changed and may change again. Travis T. Cleveland (talk) 03:32, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

With all due respect, I believe you are completely in error about that. The constitution calls for presidents and vice-presidents to be "natural-born citizens," but that does not and has never been legally construed to mean only persons born on the physical land of the United States or its territories. Rather the distinction is between naturalized citizens (those who go through the legal process of joining the citizenry of the U.S.) and those who do not need to be naturalized because they were "natural born," i.e., they were BORN citizens, not naturalized as such. Even if Arthur were born in Canada, he'd still have been a natural-born citizen, eligible for the presidency, because his parents were U.S. citizens. He could have been born on the moon to U.S. parents and still been a natural-born citizen. Monkeyzpop (talk) 06:47, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
Hey guys, this isn't a forum to discuss constitutional or statutory law.If anyone has a source for informtion they can use to improve this article then that's great, but please take the off-topic discussions elsewhere. See WP:TALK. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 07:17, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
Whatever you say. I was hoping to head off an erroneous edit. Monkeyzpop (talk) 23:01, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
Sorry if I sounded gruff. I was just prodding us away from the vast area of the topic and towards the small space of this article. While this may seem to be an obscure topic, it may become more popular due to John McCain's birth in the Panama Canal Zone. As with any controversisial matter, it's best to simply summarize all the notable viewpoints found in reliable sources with a neutral point of view. Because the foreign-birth issue was briefly important in Arthur's life it merits a brief mention here, but a detailed discussion of legal issues belongs in a "U.S. Presidential qualifications" article. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 11:16, 27 March 2008 (UTC)
My understanding is that there is some dispute as to what constitutes a "natural born citizen," and that, in the past, this has been interpreted to exclude people born outside the country, even if their parents were U.S. citizens, and has always been a source of discussion and confusion. john k (talk) 03:06, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
It was certainly a topic of dispute in Arthur's presidency. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 06:45, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Twain quote potentially misleading.

Twain may have meant that the potential inherent in Arthur and his administration was fulfilled, through the virtue of being rather small to begin with. Insults couched in such a manner were used often by Twain, so context would be extremely helpful, if you can provide it, or perhaps the possibility should be noted in the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ronar (talk • contribs) 13:48, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] pre-political

Is being Collector of the Port of New York in the 1870s really not political? I can think of few things more political than a pre-civil service reform port collectorship. john k (talk) 03:07, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

I agree. "Early career" is better. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 05:54, 12 April 2008 (UTC)