Chester Alan Arthur: The President Who Didn't Want to Be President

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Script:

When a New York Times reporter sought out Vice President Chester Alan Arthur to get a statement following the death of President James Garfield, Arthur’s valet turned the reporter away. “He is sitting alone in his room,” the valet explained, “sobbing like a child.”

To be President of the United States was the last thing Arthur wanted. Vice President, a position with limitless privileges and almost no responsibilities, that was the job for him. And he was having a grand time of it until an assassin’s bullet changed everything.

Garfield did not die immediately. There were days when it looked like he would recover, but then he would fade again. It didn’t help that his doctors used their unwashed hands to try to recover bullet fragments.

When Garfield finally succumbed on September 19, 1881, Arthur had to face the music.

He was now the twenty-first President of the United States.

At least he looked the part. A fastidious dresser (he was known to try on twenty pairs of pants before choosing one), he cut an imposing figure. He was heavy set with a thick mustache and mutton chop sideburns.

Born in Fairfield, Vermont on October 5, 1829, he was the fifth of nine children. His father was a preacher and committed abolitionist whose strong views on this subject forced him to move the family from town to town. Despite never being in one place for long, Arthur made friends easily. A conscientious student, he attended Union College, became president of the debate society, and pursued a law degree.

As a lawyer, Arthur took a lead role in major civil