{"record":{"affiliations":[{"polityId":"polity-3fcc9adb88012825729f2b2c","sourceIds":["growth-person-b52345b1c7fa25cf87ac5886-miller-arthur-life-in-brief"]}],"aliases":["Chester Alan Arthur","Chester Arthur","President Arthur"],"appointmentIds":[],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/person-b52345b1c7fa25cf87ac5886-c4cb64c4cf/","countrySlug":null,"countrySlugs":[],"entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/person-b52345b1c7fa25cf87ac5886-c4cb64c4cf/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Chester Alan Arthur became president after James A. Garfield’s death in September 1881 and served until 1885. A New York lawyer and former collector of the port of New York, he had been closely associated with Republican patronage politics. His presidency became notable for civil service legislation and early steps toward a modern steel navy.","Arthur’s administration supported new warships and naval institutions as American policymakers paid greater attention to overseas commerce and maritime power. The Office of Naval Intelligence and the Naval War College were established during his term. These measures began a process of naval modernization that later presidents expanded substantially.","Secretary of State Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen pursued reciprocal commercial arrangements and an agreement with Nicaragua for an interoceanic canal. Several proposals failed to win effective congressional approval or were abandoned by the next administration. Arthur’s diplomacy thus produced a mixture of commercial initiatives and unrealized agreements, while the growth of naval capacity had more lasting institutional consequences.","Arthur signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883, establishing competitive selection for part of the federal workforce. He also signed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 after vetoing a more restrictive version. The law barred the immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years and deepened a system of racial exclusion. His attempts to reduce high tariffs achieved limited results, and Republicans chose James G. Blaine as their 1884 presidential nominee."],"id":"global:person-b52345b1c7fa25cf87ac5886","identifiers":{},"identityScope":"global","legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-c4cb64c4cf52fd284771.html","name":"Chester A. Arthur","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["growth-person-b52345b1c7fa25cf87ac5886-miller-arthur-life-in-brief"],["growth-person-b52345b1c7fa25cf87ac5886-miller-arthur-foreign-affairs"],["growth-person-b52345b1c7fa25cf87ac5886-miller-arthur-foreign-affairs"],["growth-person-b52345b1c7fa25cf87ac5886-miller-arthur-domestic-affairs"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-c4cb64c4cf52fd284771.html","relatedEvents":[],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-11-04","revision":"c61aed927fa60d91","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-11-04","date":"","id":"growth-person-b52345b1c7fa25cf87ac5886-miller-arthur-life-in-brief","locator":"Relevant narrative sections in the named biographical essay","publisher":"University of Virginia Miller Center","title":"Chester A. Arthur: Life in Brief","type":"institutional","url":"https://millercenter.org/president/arthur/life-in-brief"},{"accessedOn":"2026-11-04","date":"","id":"growth-person-b52345b1c7fa25cf87ac5886-miller-arthur-foreign-affairs","locator":"Relevant narrative sections in the named biographical essay","publisher":"University of Virginia Miller Center","title":"Chester A. Arthur: Foreign Affairs","type":"institutional","url":"https://millercenter.org/president/arthur/foreign-affairs"},{"accessedOn":"2026-11-04","date":"","id":"growth-person-b52345b1c7fa25cf87ac5886-miller-arthur-domestic-affairs","locator":"Relevant narrative sections in the named biographical essay","publisher":"University of Virginia Miller Center","title":"Chester A. Arthur: Domestic Affairs","type":"institutional","url":"https://millercenter.org/president/arthur/domestic-affairs"}],"topics":[]},"schemaVersion":1}