Watch the April 8, 2021 program here. Passcode: .28gcK6K
Summary written by Club Member Michelle Lee.
Barack Obama said in 2016 that the presidency does not change who you are, but magnifies who you are. However, it did change Chester Arthur, the 21st President.
Scott wrote about Arthur because his presidency and the 1870-80 period are crucial to shape the America as we see today. Also, that period has some similarities to the current times – technology gap, large corporations/super rich are bending government policies and immigrants are changing America.
Arthur was born in Vermont, because of his father’s abolition belief, his family moved town to town in Vermont and finally to NY. As a young lawyer, he helped to desegregate the street cars in NYC, 100 years before Rosa Parks.
However, in the pursuit of power and wealth, he became a machine politician. For example, he got a cut from the public custom house’s confiscations which was legal at the time.
In 1880, he was nominated as the VP to James Garfield due to his association with the Eastern Stalwart fraction of the Republican Party.
In July 1881, Garfield was shot in Washington, DC. As Garfield was dying in the White House, Arthur struggled to face the reality. People thought he was unqualified to be the president and he was accused of murdering Garfield. In fear of his own life, he avoided the public.
At this time, Julia Sand, a literate woman who has an interest in politics, wrote letters to Arthur asking him not to resign and use the presidency to show the good quality of his soul. Arthur ultimately became a respected president who championed civil service reform and rebuilt US Navy. Julia Sand continued to write to Arthur till 1883. Ashamed of his career before presidency, Arthur burnt many of his papers–the letters from Julia Sand were saved, but were lost for almost 100 years.
Our speaker, Scott Greenberger, is the author of The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester Arthur. Scott was a newspaper reporter for twelve years, first at the Austin American-Statesman and then at the Boston Globe. He’s also written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Politico, and GQ. Greenberger has a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University and a master’s degree in international relations from George Washington University. He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland. Greenberger is coauthor, with former Senator Tom Daschle and Jeanne Lambrew, of the New York Times bestseller Critical: What We Can Do about the Health Care Crisis. Greenberger is currently the executive editor of Stateline, a news website funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts that covers state politics and policy for dozens of U.S. newspapers. He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland. His book, “The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur,” is available here.