Chester Arthur took office after the death of President James Garfield. As president, Arthur advocated for civil service reform. Born in Vermont, he became active in Republican politics in the 1850s as a New York City lawyer. In 1871, an era of political machines and patronage, Arthur was named to the powerful position of customs collector for the Port of New York. He later was removed from the job by President Rutherford Hayes in an attempt to reform the spoils system. Elected to the vice presidency in 1880, Arthur …show more content…
In 1855, he successfully represented Elizabeth Jennings Graham, a black woman who had been denied a seat on a Manhattan streetcar because she was black. The case helped ending desegregation of public transportation in New York City. Arthur was also involved in the so-called Lemmon slave case, in which the New York Supreme Court ruled in 1860 that slaves being transferred to a slave state through New York would be freed. During this time, Arthur joined the Republican Party, which was created by anti-slavery activists in