plorentz's Full Review: Zachary Karabell - Chester Alan Arthur: The Americ...
In the history of the United States, there have, to date, been 42 Presidents. Of those 42, most Americans can recall the names of a dozen or so (okay, I might be a little generous in that figure even), while the names of the forgotten majority are littered throughout the history of the greatest office in our country like so many handmade roadside memorials. Some, like Martin Van Buren, for instance, despite their present-day name un-recognition, played vital roles in shaping our nation and its politics - and are unjustly forgotten or misunderstood. But several were simply and unfortunately forgettable.
Still, it can (and probably should) be argued that anyone who's ever borne the mantle of the Presidency bears some kind of scholarly consideration, right? After all, these guys were Presidents! People left their homes and went to polls to elect them! Attention must be paid! And apparently, it is in this spirit that Zachary Karabell has approached the unenviable task of biographing our 21st President (as part of Times Books ongoing The American Presidents series), one Chester Alan Arthur of New York - planting a cheaply made plastic white cross in the ground next to the Interstate of U.S. history, and draping it with fake flowers that fade in the summer sun - an oh-so-forgettable reminder of a man of little consequence (lofty title or not).
Chester Alan Arthur was, quite literally, an accidental President. We can only conceive of the absurdity of his arrival in the Oval Office (and his perceived ability to hold that office) if we can first imagine someone actually wanting to assassinate, say, George H.W. Bush in the first year of his term, someone actually succeeding in doing just that (albeit with an extended hospitalization, giving the American people plenty of time to get over the "sudden-ness" of the event), and as a result, elevating Vice President Dan Quayle to the office.
In fact, the circumstances surrounding Arthur's ascendance are even more absurd that that, for in the weeks following President James Garfield's shooting (by one Charles Guiteau, a religious fanatic and political aspirant given to delusions of grandeur - later immortalized by Stephen Sondheim in his musical Assassins, doing a cakewalk up the steps to the gallows singing "I am going to the Lordy! I am so glad!"), there was significant speculation that Arthur actually had something to do with the plot to assassinate Garfield, allegations given no small amount of credence by the factionalism within Garfield and Arthur's Republican Party, and Arthur's apparent disunity with the President regarding various appointments - appointments being the main business of the Presidency at the time, and largely, the only task that occupied Garfield during his violently abbreviated term in office.
This was the Gilded Age, a most cynical time in our nation's history, where the country's best and brightest often steered clear of politics and made their names and their fortunes (not to mention governmental policy) in industry, where political influence was bought and sold like stock, and where public service itself was seen by many as a means toward attaining wealth for oneself and one's friends. Karabell notes that the election of 1880 wasn't about issues or policy so much as it was about who was going to win; with both sides waging campaigns as competitive and ultimately substance-starved as a simple horse-race, or a television reality show. And if the race to the Presidency were a reality show, then Chester Alan Arthur would be its Vecepia.
Remember Vecepia? From Survivor?
Like Vecepia, Arthur arrived at the pinnacle of political power through diligent networking and by sustaining a certain level of pragmatic inconspicousness. That and dumb luck. It was an office he'd had no ambition for, and one he accepted only very reluctantly. And just as Vecepia became a millionaire by winning the most mind-numbingly boring season of Survivor, Arthur's tenure in the Oval Office came at a time when the President's power was eclipsed by an aggressive Congress, and the office itself was beginning lose its popular mystique. There were no major national crises from 1881 to 1885 - no major wars (except for the ongoing aggressions against Native Americans in the West), no economic recession, not even a tasty political scandal to taint his reputation.
Thus, Arthur's presidency was neither heroic, nor catastrophic; and perhaps the most interesting thing he accomplished in office was a complete redecoration and remodeling of the White House. Oh, sure, Arthur did a respectable job of managing foreign policy and he successfully catalyzed some much-needed (and much resisted) political reform, but as Karabell notes in what, for me, is the most thrilling part of the book, it was Chester Alan Arthur's sense of style, his "quiet magnificence", his rich and impeccable tastes in food, wine, and clothes (not to mention his facility in the social sphere) that made him memorable; he, a wealthy middle-aged widower with a round belly and majestic salt-and-pepper sideburns, would be the closest thing to Jacqueline Kennedy the White House would know until Jackie herself came along four score years later.
In an age when everyone was looking to get rich quick, or if not to actually get rich, then at least to look as rich as possible, President Arthur became one of the nation's foremost tastemakers.
Karabell concedes early on that as a subject, Arthur doesn't inspire a whole lot of interest these days; and despite his best efforts, even Karabell's own enthusiasm often seems forced and frothy, making the temptingly brief book something of a labor to read. On the other hand, Karabell does present a handy, if un-elaborate, portrait of the state of American politics during the Gilded Age; and gives us a taste of the petty dramas cooked up by the era's political stars, second-fiddles, and also-rans, the bitchy backstage prima-donna antics by the likes of Roscoe Conkling and James G. Blaine.
Still, there are better sources to read about that Gilded Age drama. In fact, just recently, William Kennedy wrote a bracing novel based on the politicking of Roscoe Conkling (called Roscoe); I can't imagine Arthur's own life meriting historical fiction. Despite his lofty office, Arthur is the quintessential fringe character of his time, interesting mainly as "color" to a bigger story about bigger personalities doing bigger things.
The textbook, Chester Alan Arthur, by Karabell, available in Hardback. Published by: MPS. Edition: . ISBN10: 0805069518. ISBN13: 9780805069518. S...More at Textbooks.com
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