Disclaimer: Presidential history is a passion of mine and an area I have studied and read about for years. I will admit that my presidential rankings are biased and come from a place that prioritizes conservative America first values and respect for the Constitution. Since all of the published presidential rankings of the past century have been formed from the opinions of journalists and history professors, there has been a serious bias toward liberal Presidents like FDR and Woodrow Wilson. The only somewhat modern conservative who gets respect in their rankings is Teddy Roosevelt, mainly because of his progressive tendencies. None of those 3 belong anywhere near the top of a presidential ranking. Wilson, a despicable human being, might be dead last. More on those three (and others) to come.
I would like to take a moment to recognize a forgotten president and a surprising top 10 President for me - Chester A Arthur.
Arthur was the VP for the newly elected James Garfield. Many believe Garfield had the makings of an all time great President. Due in part to the rampant corruption from the previous presidency, he came into office vowing to clean up government corruption. Most believed he would do it as he was a deeply religious, intelligent, and honest man. We never found out. Unfortunately, he was assassinated months into his term.
Arthur was not expected to follow through with Garfield's promises because he came from the NY crony political world. In fact, Arthur was the leading protege of New York political boss, Roscoe Conklin. For clarification, there is little to differentiate a political boss from a crime boss. Conklin was the most powerful political figure in New York. Arthur was right behind him. In fact, Arthur as VP was correctly viewed as a way to appease Conklin and the New York political machine after Garfield got the presidential nomination on the promise of civil service reform. It would be fair to question whether this essentially signed Garfield's death warrant. His assassin shouted, "I am a Stalwart! Arthur is President," after shooting Garfield. "Stalwart" was another name for a person within the New York political machine. Either way, they got their President. Or did they?
Amazingly, President Arthur stayed 100% true to Garfield's vision. He signed civil service reform into law early in his presidency. The Civil service Reform Act mandated that government employees would be hired based on written tests and merit, not on political affiliation. It forbade the firing of government employees for political purposes. Conklin was incensed. Arthur displayed courage in choosing right over loyalty to the political machine. He also chose honor in following the wishes of his slain predecessor (and the American public) while effectively ending his own political career.
President Arthur also restricted immigration to exclude criminals and those who were unable to care for themselves. Bring in the best and brightest. Sound familiar? He put America's needs first by excluding those who could be a danger to the country or a drain upon its resources. This is precisely what immigration should be for a country looking to thrive.
President Arthur tried to fight the Democrat violent control in the South. Much of what he tried to pass to protect the civil rights of southern blacks was fought successfully by the dominant Democrats in Congress. The party of slavery and racism fought President Arthur constantly to maintain its foot on the throat of its recently freed slaves. An incident at West Point gained particular notoriety when a cadet named Johnson Whittaker was railroaded, dishonorably discharged, and courtmartialed in a case clearly tainted by racial bias. Arthur intervened and ordered the freeing of the wrongly accused and convicted man. This was no small act in 1880's America.
The bottom line is that President Arthur did not spit on the Constitution as too many presidents before him did. And as too many since have done. As President, he showed moral character by making choices which opposed his own self interests. When he was chosen as VP, Democrats and even many Republicans argued that the Republican ticket was not serious about cleaning up government corruption after all. Arthur proved them dead wrong.
Largely forgotten and very underrated, President Chester A Arthur is worth a deep dive for anyone curious about our past Presidents.
I would like to take a moment to recognize a forgotten president and a surprising top 10 President for me - Chester A Arthur.
Arthur was the VP for the newly elected James Garfield. Many believe Garfield had the makings of an all time great President. Due in part to the rampant corruption from the previous presidency, he came into office vowing to clean up government corruption. Most believed he would do it as he was a deeply religious, intelligent, and honest man. We never found out. Unfortunately, he was assassinated months into his term.
Arthur was not expected to follow through with Garfield's promises because he came from the NY crony political world. In fact, Arthur was the leading protege of New York political boss, Roscoe Conklin. For clarification, there is little to differentiate a political boss from a crime boss. Conklin was the most powerful political figure in New York. Arthur was right behind him. In fact, Arthur as VP was correctly viewed as a way to appease Conklin and the New York political machine after Garfield got the presidential nomination on the promise of civil service reform. It would be fair to question whether this essentially signed Garfield's death warrant. His assassin shouted, "I am a Stalwart! Arthur is President," after shooting Garfield. "Stalwart" was another name for a person within the New York political machine. Either way, they got their President. Or did they?
Amazingly, President Arthur stayed 100% true to Garfield's vision. He signed civil service reform into law early in his presidency. The Civil service Reform Act mandated that government employees would be hired based on written tests and merit, not on political affiliation. It forbade the firing of government employees for political purposes. Conklin was incensed. Arthur displayed courage in choosing right over loyalty to the political machine. He also chose honor in following the wishes of his slain predecessor (and the American public) while effectively ending his own political career.
President Arthur also restricted immigration to exclude criminals and those who were unable to care for themselves. Bring in the best and brightest. Sound familiar? He put America's needs first by excluding those who could be a danger to the country or a drain upon its resources. This is precisely what immigration should be for a country looking to thrive.
President Arthur tried to fight the Democrat violent control in the South. Much of what he tried to pass to protect the civil rights of southern blacks was fought successfully by the dominant Democrats in Congress. The party of slavery and racism fought President Arthur constantly to maintain its foot on the throat of its recently freed slaves. An incident at West Point gained particular notoriety when a cadet named Johnson Whittaker was railroaded, dishonorably discharged, and courtmartialed in a case clearly tainted by racial bias. Arthur intervened and ordered the freeing of the wrongly accused and convicted man. This was no small act in 1880's America.
The bottom line is that President Arthur did not spit on the Constitution as too many presidents before him did. And as too many since have done. As President, he showed moral character by making choices which opposed his own self interests. When he was chosen as VP, Democrats and even many Republicans argued that the Republican ticket was not serious about cleaning up government corruption after all. Arthur proved them dead wrong.
Largely forgotten and very underrated, President Chester A Arthur is worth a deep dive for anyone curious about our past Presidents.
