Presidents and Faith: Chester Alan Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was born October 5, 1829, in Fairfield, Vermont. (This fact is not universally accepted, and in his day, Arthur had his own "birthers" who claimed that he was in fact born in Canada). His father, Reverend William Arthur, was a Baptist Minister who emigrated from present day Northern Ireland to Dunham, Lower Canada, (in present-day Quebec) in 1818 or 1819. Arthur's mother, Malvina Stone, was born in Vermont. His parents met while William Arthur was teaching at a school in Dunham, just across the border from her native Vermont. The two married in Dunham on April 12, 1821, soon after meeting. William was a lawyer for a time, but he left the law, and turned his back on his Presbyterian upbringing, to join the Free Will Baptists. He spent the rest of his life as a minister in that sect. William was an outspoken abolitionist, which often made him unpopular with members of his congregations and contributed to the family's frequent moves. In 1828, the family moved again, to Fairfield, where Chester Alan Arthur was born the following year, the fifth of nine children.
Little is known about Arthur's religious life. His parents urged him to accept Christianity, but according to his biographer, Thomas Reeves, Arthur and his brother showed a "hostility to the faith", causing a rift with his parents. From an early age he became involved in politics, joining New York state's young Whigs to support Henry Clay in his election against James K. Polk. He attended Union College in New York, and taught school briefly before becoming a lawyer. While he may not have embraced his parents' Baptist beliefs, his views on slavery accorded with theirs and and a lawyer he was involved in the defense of a number of prominent civil rights cases.
In 1856 Arthur met his future wife, Ellen Herndon from Virgina, whose father was a Naval officer stationed in New York. Ellen was a devout Episcopalian and in 1859, the couple were married at Calvary Episcopal Church in Manhattan.
Arthur's political star rose as he became involved with the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party in New York. He was given the prominent and lucrative position as Collector of the New York Customs House. Arthur held the position until 1878 when he was fired by President Rutherford B. Hayes as part of a civil service reform plan.
Arthur continued active in Stalwart politics. On January 12, 1880, Ellen Arthur died suddenly while her husband was in Albany organizing the political agenda for the coming year. The loss devastated Arthur. After becoming president, Arthur, who could see St. John's Episcopal Church from his office, commissioned a stained glass window dedicated to his wife at the church. He had it installed where he could view it at night, as the lights were kept on within the church.
Later that year, Arthur was selected as the Republican Party's candidate for Vice-President in a move to appease the Stalwart faction, even though he had never held elected office. Arthur accepted the nomination above the objection of Stalwart leader Roscoe Conkling and in the election of 1880, the ticket of Garfield and Arthur were victorious. Arthur became President in the fall of 1881, following the death of President James Garfield, who had been shot two months earlier by Charles Guiteau.
As president Arthur attended St. John's Episcopal Church, the church closest to the White House, but he was not considered to be a very active church member there.
One religious issue confronting Arthur as President was the Latter Day Saints Church and their practice of polygamy in Utah Territory. Like his predecessor James Garfield, Arthur believed that polygamy was criminal behavior and was morally repugnant. In 1882, he signed the Edmunds Act into law; the legislation made polygamy a federal crime, barring polygamists both from public office and the right to vote. In his state of the union address the previous December, he told Congress:
"The fact that adherents of the Mormon Church, which rests upon polygamy as its corner stone, have recently been peopling in large numbers Idaho, Arizona, and other of our Western Territories is well calculated to excite the liveliest interest and apprehension. It imposes upon Congress and the Executive the duty of arraying against this barbarous system all the power which under the Constitution and the law they can wield for its destruction."
Arthur was unable to mount a serious campaign for re-election due to poor health, mainly a kidney ailment diagnosed as Bright's disease. In 1886, he became very ill and, on November 16, he ordered nearly all of his papers, both personal and official, burned. As a result of this much of Arthur's private and personal thoughts remain hidden from the world, including his religious views.
The next morning, Arthur suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and never regained consciousness. He died the following day, November 18, 1886, at the age of 57. On November 22, a private funeral was held at the Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City, attended by President Cleveland and ex-President Hayes. Arthur was buried with his family members and ancestors in the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York. In 1889, a monument was placed on Arthur's burial plot by sculptor Ephraim Keyser of New York, consisting of a giant bronze female angel figure placing a bronze palm leaf on a granite sarcophagus.
Arthur ranks among the least religious of the presidents, at least publicly. He never seemed to use religion for political purposes and it was not a theme in his rhetoric. Aside from speculation from historians, his private thoughts on the subject remain private.
Little is known about Arthur's religious life. His parents urged him to accept Christianity, but according to his biographer, Thomas Reeves, Arthur and his brother showed a "hostility to the faith", causing a rift with his parents. From an early age he became involved in politics, joining New York state's young Whigs to support Henry Clay in his election against James K. Polk. He attended Union College in New York, and taught school briefly before becoming a lawyer. While he may not have embraced his parents' Baptist beliefs, his views on slavery accorded with theirs and and a lawyer he was involved in the defense of a number of prominent civil rights cases.
In 1856 Arthur met his future wife, Ellen Herndon from Virgina, whose father was a Naval officer stationed in New York. Ellen was a devout Episcopalian and in 1859, the couple were married at Calvary Episcopal Church in Manhattan.
Arthur's political star rose as he became involved with the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party in New York. He was given the prominent and lucrative position as Collector of the New York Customs House. Arthur held the position until 1878 when he was fired by President Rutherford B. Hayes as part of a civil service reform plan.
Arthur continued active in Stalwart politics. On January 12, 1880, Ellen Arthur died suddenly while her husband was in Albany organizing the political agenda for the coming year. The loss devastated Arthur. After becoming president, Arthur, who could see St. John's Episcopal Church from his office, commissioned a stained glass window dedicated to his wife at the church. He had it installed where he could view it at night, as the lights were kept on within the church.
Later that year, Arthur was selected as the Republican Party's candidate for Vice-President in a move to appease the Stalwart faction, even though he had never held elected office. Arthur accepted the nomination above the objection of Stalwart leader Roscoe Conkling and in the election of 1880, the ticket of Garfield and Arthur were victorious. Arthur became President in the fall of 1881, following the death of President James Garfield, who had been shot two months earlier by Charles Guiteau.
As president Arthur attended St. John's Episcopal Church, the church closest to the White House, but he was not considered to be a very active church member there.
One religious issue confronting Arthur as President was the Latter Day Saints Church and their practice of polygamy in Utah Territory. Like his predecessor James Garfield, Arthur believed that polygamy was criminal behavior and was morally repugnant. In 1882, he signed the Edmunds Act into law; the legislation made polygamy a federal crime, barring polygamists both from public office and the right to vote. In his state of the union address the previous December, he told Congress:
"The fact that adherents of the Mormon Church, which rests upon polygamy as its corner stone, have recently been peopling in large numbers Idaho, Arizona, and other of our Western Territories is well calculated to excite the liveliest interest and apprehension. It imposes upon Congress and the Executive the duty of arraying against this barbarous system all the power which under the Constitution and the law they can wield for its destruction."
Arthur was unable to mount a serious campaign for re-election due to poor health, mainly a kidney ailment diagnosed as Bright's disease. In 1886, he became very ill and, on November 16, he ordered nearly all of his papers, both personal and official, burned. As a result of this much of Arthur's private and personal thoughts remain hidden from the world, including his religious views.
The next morning, Arthur suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and never regained consciousness. He died the following day, November 18, 1886, at the age of 57. On November 22, a private funeral was held at the Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City, attended by President Cleveland and ex-President Hayes. Arthur was buried with his family members and ancestors in the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York. In 1889, a monument was placed on Arthur's burial plot by sculptor Ephraim Keyser of New York, consisting of a giant bronze female angel figure placing a bronze palm leaf on a granite sarcophagus.
Arthur ranks among the least religious of the presidents, at least publicly. He never seemed to use religion for political purposes and it was not a theme in his rhetoric. Aside from speculation from historians, his private thoughts on the subject remain private.