Source: Scott S. Greenberger. The Unexpected President -
The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur (2017)
The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur (2017)
The “Shoddy Aristocracy” was a term used by those appalled at the money being made from the profiteers in the North during the Civil War; they were getting rich selling substandard items to the Union Army. Chester A. Arthur wanted to be part of that “aristocracy”. Arthur had become an expert at supplying the military and honoring contracts in his time in the Union Army as a quartermaster (he resigned his commission in 1862). Arthur had left the army and was a lawyer in New York City, and he started to lobby for government contracts in Washington, D.C. and in Albany (NY).. Soon, Arthur became wealthy enough to purchase a five story brownstone in NYC and hire Irish servants.
After Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and the appointment of Ulysses S. Grant to the post of Lt. General (as well as some family tragedies), Arthur had become so disenchanted with the Lincoln administration that he had almost become a Copperhead. Arthur’s conscience wasn’t bothered by profiteering from a war he thought was badly mismanaged by Lincoln and his top men. Lucrative military contracts disappeared after the Civil War, but Arthur’s friendship with Thomas Murphy, a hatter that he had come to know during the war, deepened. Arthur helped the Republican candidate Murphy win a seat in the NY state senate in a Democratic district. Arthur started to spend almost every night at Murphy’s home, having “Super Happy Fun Time” and talking politics.
Arthur made many valuable connections via state senator Murphy. What Arthur and the others in his political circle were interested in was the pursuit and maintenance of power, not solving problems with that amassed political power. In other words, their politics was based on power, not principles. Arthur’s standing in the Republican Party in the state of New York rose due mostly to Murphy, and by 1868, Arthur had become a prominent politician. But in that same year Murphy lost his senate seat pursuing re-election, but Arthur was soon able to find an even greater patron.
After Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and the appointment of Ulysses S. Grant to the post of Lt. General (as well as some family tragedies), Arthur had become so disenchanted with the Lincoln administration that he had almost become a Copperhead. Arthur’s conscience wasn’t bothered by profiteering from a war he thought was badly mismanaged by Lincoln and his top men. Lucrative military contracts disappeared after the Civil War, but Arthur’s friendship with Thomas Murphy, a hatter that he had come to know during the war, deepened. Arthur helped the Republican candidate Murphy win a seat in the NY state senate in a Democratic district. Arthur started to spend almost every night at Murphy’s home, having “Super Happy Fun Time” and talking politics.
Arthur made many valuable connections via state senator Murphy. What Arthur and the others in his political circle were interested in was the pursuit and maintenance of power, not solving problems with that amassed political power. In other words, their politics was based on power, not principles. Arthur’s standing in the Republican Party in the state of New York rose due mostly to Murphy, and by 1868, Arthur had become a prominent politician. But in that same year Murphy lost his senate seat pursuing re-election, but Arthur was soon able to find an even greater patron.
That patron was Roscoe Conkling, who was the same age as Arthur. Arthur’s personality was that of a “Hail Fellow Well Met”, but Conkling basically hated people, was easily offended, and didn’t have much of a sense of humor. Conkling was elected to Congress in 1858 as a Republican, and he soon became a force in the House of Representatives, earning admirers/supporters as well as enemies. The only other member of the House that had Conkling’s eloquence was James G. Blaine (ME), who while also a Republican, was basically the opposite of Conkling in terms of personality. And they were incredibly jealous of each other, so a clash was inevitable.
In 1866 Blaine really heaped the insults on Conkling in front of the other representatives. Conkling never again spoke to Blaine or even acknowledged his presence. Conkling was elected to the Senate (before the 17th Amendment, state legislatures selected the two U.S. Senators) before Blaine, and took his seat in 1867. Conkling refused to take direction of party leaders in the Senate; it was basically unprecedented for a freshman Senator to do so.
Conkling was married, but he had a mistress, Kate Sprague, who was the daughter of Salmon P. Chase as well as the wife of the Governor of Rhode Island. Sprague’s advice for Conkling: gain the prize he wanted most, which was to be the Republican Party boss of New York. And the Key to that Kingdom was the New York City Customs House, which by 1872 was still the primary entry point for goods coming into the US. The NY Customs House was the largest federal office in the nation with hundreds of jobs centered around patronage.
In 1866 Blaine really heaped the insults on Conkling in front of the other representatives. Conkling never again spoke to Blaine or even acknowledged his presence. Conkling was elected to the Senate (before the 17th Amendment, state legislatures selected the two U.S. Senators) before Blaine, and took his seat in 1867. Conkling refused to take direction of party leaders in the Senate; it was basically unprecedented for a freshman Senator to do so.
Conkling was married, but he had a mistress, Kate Sprague, who was the daughter of Salmon P. Chase as well as the wife of the Governor of Rhode Island. Sprague’s advice for Conkling: gain the prize he wanted most, which was to be the Republican Party boss of New York. And the Key to that Kingdom was the New York City Customs House, which by 1872 was still the primary entry point for goods coming into the US. The NY Customs House was the largest federal office in the nation with hundreds of jobs centered around patronage.
The four main jobs at the Customs House were collector, surveyor, appraiser, and the naval officer. Each was in charge of their own department and served four year terms, but the collector by far was the most powerful. There were 800+ clerks that worked under the collector, which meant that the collector was in essence “Mr. Spoils System”. The job required commercial and administrative experience, and the job was a fairly daunting venture in that few collectors made in through an entire four year term.
In July 1870, President Ulysses Grant nominated Tom Murphy to be the Customs House collector. Conkling immediately saw his chance to become the Republican boss in NY by championing Murphy’s nomination in the Senate, while also earning valuable political capital with Grant. Murphy was confirmed as collector with only three Senators voting in opposition, and Conkling was NY’s undisputed Republican leader; many believed he would become President. It was during the confirmation process of Murphy that Chester Arthur and Roscoe Conkling became acquainted, and then friends. Arthur became Conkling’s “Right Hand Man”, and during the 1870s they advanced together and accumulated power and influence until they were on the brink of the White House.
In July 1870, President Ulysses Grant nominated Tom Murphy to be the Customs House collector. Conkling immediately saw his chance to become the Republican boss in NY by championing Murphy’s nomination in the Senate, while also earning valuable political capital with Grant. Murphy was confirmed as collector with only three Senators voting in opposition, and Conkling was NY’s undisputed Republican leader; many believed he would become President. It was during the confirmation process of Murphy that Chester Arthur and Roscoe Conkling became acquainted, and then friends. Arthur became Conkling’s “Right Hand Man”, and during the 1870s they advanced together and accumulated power and influence until they were on the brink of the White House.
After the Civil War, Arthur no longer viewed politics as a struggle over ideas/issues, but rather as a partisan game to which the victor enjoyed the spoils (e.g. jobs, power, money). Arthur and Murphy had also become involved in the Tweed Ring, and Murphy had become especially close to Tweed. In 1869, Murphy asked Tweed if he could create a job for Arthur, and the job was titled Counsel to the NYC Tax Commission, which paid $10k/yr, and Arthur was in a position where he was to return favors to Tweed.
Arthur and Murphy knew that for the Republicans to ensure their stranglehold on NY politics, the Customs House needed to be in the hands of the Republican Party. Arthur told those in his “Circle of Trust” that if he was in charge of the Customs House he could make the NY Republican Party an unstoppable force. Murphy had been the collector, but he hadn’t paid much attention to the potential of the position since he was so focused on dishing out the spoils to make Conkling happy. Soon enough though, Murphy discovered that vast profits could be skimmed from the position by taking 5% - 25% of what was stored in the Customs House warehouse until payment was received to release the goods. Murphy sent much of that ill-gotten booty to Conkling, et al, but also to some of Grant’s corrupt cronies.
During the Fall of 1871, the most powerful newspaper publisher in the US, Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune, went on the warpath against the practices of the collector of the Customs House, and he put a lot of political pressure on Grant. Grant gave into that pressure to reform the Customs House, and in November 1871, the President accepted the resignation of Tom Murphy as collector . . . but Grant allowed Murphy to name his successor, which was Chester Arthur. Greeley lamented that Arthur would be nothing more than the puppet of Murphy and Conkling.
Arthur and Murphy knew that for the Republicans to ensure their stranglehold on NY politics, the Customs House needed to be in the hands of the Republican Party. Arthur told those in his “Circle of Trust” that if he was in charge of the Customs House he could make the NY Republican Party an unstoppable force. Murphy had been the collector, but he hadn’t paid much attention to the potential of the position since he was so focused on dishing out the spoils to make Conkling happy. Soon enough though, Murphy discovered that vast profits could be skimmed from the position by taking 5% - 25% of what was stored in the Customs House warehouse until payment was received to release the goods. Murphy sent much of that ill-gotten booty to Conkling, et al, but also to some of Grant’s corrupt cronies.
During the Fall of 1871, the most powerful newspaper publisher in the US, Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune, went on the warpath against the practices of the collector of the Customs House, and he put a lot of political pressure on Grant. Grant gave into that pressure to reform the Customs House, and in November 1871, the President accepted the resignation of Tom Murphy as collector . . . but Grant allowed Murphy to name his successor, which was Chester Arthur. Greeley lamented that Arthur would be nothing more than the puppet of Murphy and Conkling.
Arthur aimed to put in effect his political vision for the Customs House as he had outlined, in part to prove his loyalty to Conkling, but also to get more money for himself. 1 December 1871 was Arthur’s first day as collector, and outside of the Executive Branch, he held the most lucrative and powerful job in the federal government. Arthur took for himself $50k/yr ($1m in 2017 dollars) from skimming as Murphy had done, but the majority of the skimmed monies went to the Republican Party in NY. Arthur used his position to gain a seat on the five member Elevated Railroad Commission in NYC, and bought stock in the company as well.
Arthur was now in the upper-society of NYC and he became acquainted with many powerful figures which included Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (the father of TR). Arthur and his wife regularly entertained, lavishly so. Arthur showed up for work at 1 pm in that he was usually up to the brink of dawn interacting with influential people. Arthur’s charm and elegance at running the Customs House helped blunt the frustrations of those whose goods were taken by skimming. Arthur was popular with the employees at the Customs House. Arthur demanded party and personal loyalty, but he resisted external efforts to reduce the salaries of those employees. Arthur focused on keeping the workers he had and added new positions instead of thinning the ranks in order to cut costs. In effect, Arthur was Conkling’s man running the NY Republican machine so Conkling could remain an effective Senator (An added bonus was that Arthur’s personality was far more effective than Conkling’s in dealing with the people side of the coin).
In the Fall of 1872, Arthur faced a challenge when the application of the new federal civil service rules went into effect. Arthur gave outward respect to the law but totally ignored implementing any of its aspects. The only applicants that took the required civil service exams were the ones that Arthur had already decided to hire. Republican political bosses in each state put their efforts to make sure that Grant won re-election in 1872, and Arthur did his best to help with the machinery of the Republican Party in the state of New York.
Arthur was now in the upper-society of NYC and he became acquainted with many powerful figures which included Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (the father of TR). Arthur and his wife regularly entertained, lavishly so. Arthur showed up for work at 1 pm in that he was usually up to the brink of dawn interacting with influential people. Arthur’s charm and elegance at running the Customs House helped blunt the frustrations of those whose goods were taken by skimming. Arthur was popular with the employees at the Customs House. Arthur demanded party and personal loyalty, but he resisted external efforts to reduce the salaries of those employees. Arthur focused on keeping the workers he had and added new positions instead of thinning the ranks in order to cut costs. In effect, Arthur was Conkling’s man running the NY Republican machine so Conkling could remain an effective Senator (An added bonus was that Arthur’s personality was far more effective than Conkling’s in dealing with the people side of the coin).
In the Fall of 1872, Arthur faced a challenge when the application of the new federal civil service rules went into effect. Arthur gave outward respect to the law but totally ignored implementing any of its aspects. The only applicants that took the required civil service exams were the ones that Arthur had already decided to hire. Republican political bosses in each state put their efforts to make sure that Grant won re-election in 1872, and Arthur did his best to help with the machinery of the Republican Party in the state of New York.