The Presidencies of James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur

Since he was assassinated very early in his term, it is inappropriate to analyze the Garfield presidency. It would be reduced to statements of his intentions when he took office and speculations regarding how he would have handled events. Although Doenecke spends some time in examining Garfield's personal philosophy, to his credit, it is minimal. He concentrates on one of the greatest problems facing presidents at that time, the federal patronage, which was one of the few things that Garfield managed to do before he was gunned down. In the era before civil service reform, the change of administration meant that many federal jobs needed to be filled. At the time, they were considered political spoils, to be awarded to individuals who had served the new president in the past or who were expected to serve him in the future. While all presidents used it as a rewards system, they also were frustrated in the number of applicants, and the time it took to deal with them. Therefore, the sections on what Garfield did as president largely deal with his handling of the patronage issues. While Chester A. Arthur was a compromise candidate for vice president and automatically suspect as presidential material, his presidency suffered from yet another serious problem. Unlike the earlier presidents who died in office, Garfield lingered for some time after he was shot. Eighty days elapsed between the time Garfield was wounded and his death. Furthermore, at times it appeared that he would recover. Therefore, there was over two months of leadership limbo, plenty of time for the government to drift. During this time, Arthur's hands were tied, as there was no precedent concerning an incapacitated president. There are two things about this book that are striking, although they are related. The first is how little coverage there is of domestic affairs, especially in the area of legislation. The years of the Arthur presidency were a time of little major legislative action, the only significant accomplishment were the initial steps of civil service reform. There is mention of the general economic conditions and the continued expansion of the industrial revolution, but nothing with significant depth. The second point is the amount of coverage of U. S. involvement in world affairs. With a military that could have been easily defeated by that of nearly all European nations, there could be no muscle flexing. However, the growth of international commerce, the European imperial quest for colonies and the fact that the U. S. now covered both coasts meant that U. S. merchants now traveled the world in search of commercial and economic ties. For reasons that I don't understand, the 1890's are generally considered to be the point where the United States shed the isolationist mindset and began to take an interest in the rest of the world. Doenecke does an excellent job in describing how involved the U. S. was becoming a decade earlier. There is coverage of U. S. involvement in