21st President Chester A. Arthur America’s First Unconstitutional President
Transcript of 21st President Chester A. Arthur America’s First Unconstitutional President
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21St President Chester A. Arthur was the son of an Irish immigrant, William Arthur, and a Vermonter,
Malvina Stone. His career up until 1880 had been one of a competent and very well paid Civil-Servant in
New York, and would be nominated that year for Vice President through some extraordinary political
maneuverings at the Republican National Convention that created the ticket. He would become the 21st
President after the Assassination of President Garfield. Inquires were made into his qualifications for the
Vice Presidency and hence the Presidency, but these issues would not prevent him from securing the
position of Vice President, unable to gain enough traction to overwhelm the political machine supporting
the Garfield/Arthur Ticket. President Chester Arthur was successful in keeping the public at large
unaware of the secret of his heritage, and he died shortly after leaving the White House November 18,
1886. Chester Alan Arthur served honorably and well as President of the United States, but was not
Constitutionally Qualified for the Office of either Vice President or President of the United States of
America, and set a precedent by which it would happen again.
Young Chester Arthur entered Union College in 1845 as a sophomore. He graduated in 1848 and was
elected to Phi Beta Kappa. For some years, he taught school and read law, and in 1854 passed his bar
exam. With some assistance from his father, Arthur would be hired by the Culver Law Firm in New York
City as a clerk.1 During his time there, he would meet and work with the leading legal and political
persons of the day through his work on two cases regarding African American Civil Rights.2
One of those he met and impressed was Roscoe Conkling, the undisputed leader of the Republican
Party, who would have a powerful influence in Arthurs life through his introduction to the inside of the
Patronage system. Conkling had noticed Arthurs skills as an attorney, as well as the administrative
prowess he had demonstrated during his time as the quartermaster general for all of New York during the
Civil War.3 Arthur had joined the state militia in 1858 and was appointed by the governor to be engineer-
in-chief with the rank of quartermaster general in the New York Volunteers and was eventually promoted
on merit to brigadier general.4 He retired to his law practice in 1863 which would make him a wealthy
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man.5 Arthur had a lucrative side job as well, working in the Conkling machine for the Republican
Stalwarts. From 1869 - 1870 he acted as the chief counsel to the New York City Tax Commission earning
him 10,000 a year, a tremendous salary for the time.6
In 1871 President Ulysses S. Grant, also a practitioner of the patronage system, would appoint Arthur
to the position of Collector of the Port of New York, an office of power and wealth that today has no
civil-service equivalent. Responsible for 75% of the import duties for the United States, he controlled the
entire coast of New York and part of New Jersey.7 This position would gain Arthur 50,000$ a year for his
portion of fines collected, and he handled the salary kickbacks that went to the Conkling Machine. 8
With the Election of reform President Rutherford B. Hayes, Conklings machine and the New York
Customs offices would come under great scrutiny and investigation. Arthur would eventually be removed
from office amid accusations of corruption in the summer of 1880 during a congressional recess.9 The
GOP nomination process that year was one that Arthur attended as an unelected peer of those running the
Party. It was those peers who would eventually orchestrate his nomination for Vice President.
The biggest political debates by far in the GildedAge revolved around the Patronage System,
and the election cycle of 1880 was focused on that very issue. Machine Politics was perfected by
Tammany Hall for the Democrats, and the Republicans had their own Machine - the Conkling Stalwarts.
In the years between 1877 and 1900 debate raged within the Republican Party revolving around retaining
and protecting the political payoffs of the machine, and reforming the Civil Services with the intent of
taking it out of the control of the machine and the party bosses.
There were three politicians ultimately responsible for Arthurs nomination: James G. Blaine,
Roscoe Conkling and President Rutherford B. Hayes.
Republican James G. Blaine was a well known politician from Maine in the 1880s. A reform
minded politician, he was also Speaker of the House, and served as Secretary of State for James Garfield,
Chester Arthur as well as Benjamin Harrison10. Blaine, leader of the Half-breeds, was a personal enemy
of Roscoe Conkling, the undisputed leader of the Republican Party in New York at the time.11 The
Republicans were a house divided, between the Stalwarts who favored the Patronage system and the
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Half Breeds who favored Civil Service Reform. Conkling was a Stalwart who used and defended the
Patronage systemChester Arthur was a lieutenant in his machine. Blaine was a Half-Breed who
supported Civil Service Reform.
The Half-Breeds at the Republican National convention nominated Blaine in 1880; they had more
votes than the Stalwarts, but not enough to secure a nomination without their acceptance, and the
stalemate was on.12 The Stalwarts would not accept Blaine. This set up the circumstances by which James
Garfield, a Half-Breed, would get the GOP nomination as a candidate least abrasive to the Stalwarts, and
as a concession to the Stalwarts for their support, Chester Arthur was named his Running Mate, though
Conkling himself urged Arthur to decline.13Regardless of Arthurs surprising nomination and acceptance,
Conkling had successfully prevented Blaine from getting the nomination for President.
Arthur was never in the running for President, and was without a doubt a part of the compromise
which led to the Nomination and eventual election of Garfield. Arthur, in having been the specific target
of President Hayes, would also be a slap in the face to President Hayes, making his nomination to the
Vice Presidency just that much more attractive.14 However with support from Conkling and his machine
only in the range of lukewarm, Garfield would nominate Conklings arch nemesis James Blaine to the
position of Secretary of State after the election. This political dance between Garfield, Conkling, Blaine,
and Hayes, with all of the power and weight of the Party Machine playing the music, got Arthur the Vice
Presidency.15 The GOP would go on to a narrow victory in the National election.
Unfortunately, President Garfield would have a very short term in office; he was shot on July 2,
1881 by Charles Guiteaua Stalwart who then bragged about making Chester Arthur President,
something that would haunt the new President through his term. President Garfield would die September
19, 1881, and Arthur took the Oath of Office. Perhaps it was revenge for putting a President into power
who was for reforming the Patronage system (President Garfield); the motive behind the murder of the
President is somewhat murky.16 Blaine would remain Secretary of State for a time but would resign a few
months later. The Office of Vice President would remain vacant for the remainder of his Presidency.17
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President Arthurs term was relatively quiet and largely without accomplishments. Few great
issues came his way, but those that did he handled very well. Arthur became Vice President because of
his political connections, his administrative skills honed as the quartermaster general in the New York
Volunteers during the civil War, as well as Collector for the Ports of New York, would be of great service
to him in the White House upon becoming Commander in Chief. He repeatedly surprised a great many
people by proving his independence from the machine that raised him to power.
One of President Arthurs accomplishments was Civil Service Reform. Though not fully behind
the movement, he would sign the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883, a tremendous blow to the
patronage system that had given him his position as VP and tragically President.18 Merit exams would be
the means of advancement, new employees had to start at the bottom of the ladder.19 Federal
appointments would be apportioned in the states, and there would no longer be any salary kickbacks.20 If
it had one drawback, though it was sweeping reform, it was not retro-active. Those in office would
continue to hold those offices.21 It was the beginning of the end of the Patronage system, and was a direct
contradiction to Arthurs own rise to power.
After many years spent as a very wealthy man, President Arthur was used to living in some style, and
the White House at this time, did not live up to that standard. He acquired funding from congress for
30,000$ to completely renovate theNations House.22 Louis Tiffany, New York designer, would be hired
to bring the historic mansion up to Arthurs taste.23 His renovation of the White House is considered one
of his Administrations accomplishments, which in reality were not many in number.24
Arthur would also eventually sign the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned Chinese
immigration to the United States for ten years.25 Popular belief held that too many Chinese were entering
the country and lowering wages of Americans, a concern still frequently heard today, though not in
regards to the Chinese. Political pressure from his own party as well as that of the Nation in general led
Arthur to signing the document. The general quiet of the Gilded Age reflected Americas inward focus.
Westward Expansion was over, and America was very busy building the industry and engine of its
internal economy, political system, as well as taming a vast interior.
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Overall, President Arthur was a very good administrator, had clearly freed himself of the Patronage
system, and was a good steward of the country. He would leave office more respected in general than
when he entered it. He saw the need for reforming tariffs and taxes, Government revenues were far
exceeding the needs of the bureaucracy, and so he consistently advocated for lowering the rates as a
means of balancing the inequities.26 His fellow Republicans, still favoring high tariffs as a means of
protecting eastern manufacturing were not too pleased. Lowering government expenditures and
decreasing tariffs was something completely opposite to what one would expect of a President who rose
to power through the patronage system.27 He had a sense of conscious and fairness in office that took
many people by surprise, some pleasantly, others rather unpleasantly. For a man most did not expect
much from, his term in office exceeded expectations. Many historical accounts note with some surprise
that he turned out to be a better President than had been anticipated of Garfield, whom he had replaced so
unexpectedly.
President Chester Arthur had been nominated for Vice President as part of breaking a major stalemate
between the Stalwarts and the HalfBreeds within the Republican Party. It is unknown if he aspired to
such an office on his own. Up until that time he had most recently been a Civil Servant as the Collector of
the Port in New York City, a Lawyer, and a very wealthy man. He had never run for any elected political
office. Had Arthur been actively campaigning for a nomination to a position such as the Vice Presidency
for a longer deliberate time, it is quite possible he would have run into some roadblocks because of his
Fathers Citizenship at the time he was born. William Arthur Sr. did not become a Naturalized Citizen of
the United States until 14 years after Chester Arthurs birth.
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(Arthur 1) William Arthur Naturalization 1843*28
The Presidents father, William Arthur Sr. was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland in 1796.29 He
attended the Blue School in Belfast and gained a common school education in 1818, and then
immigrated to Canada in 1818 or 1819, on a sailing vessel leaving from Derry Ireland.30 William Arthur
*William Arthurs Naturalization paperwork appears courtesy of Leo Donofrio Esq. (Donofrio) who obtained a
copy of the microfiche from Author Gregory Dehler (Dehler) who obtained it from the Manuscript Division, Library
of Congress, "Chester Alan Arthur Papers."
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landed in Three Rivers Canada and moved onto Upper Mills, known as Stanbridge in Quebec Province
just north of Vermont.31 William Arthur was known for his beautiful penmanship, and so he began
looking for work as a teacher. A childhood accident had damaged his feet, and so he appeared to be
clubfooted or otherwise lame.32 He taught for one term in Stanbridge and then in 1819 he secured a
position in Dunham Flats at a Government School.33 He met Vermont born Malvina Stone in Dunham
Flats, and it was to Vermont the couple would run away to be married in 1821. After their return to
Dunham, they would later be remarried at the insistence of the Brides family at an Episcopal Church.34
They would have eight surviving children.
(Arthur 2) Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan ArthurThomas C. Reeves35
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The family would move many times in this small region of northern Vermont, Southern Quebec, and New
York. They would be well known because of William Arthur Sr.s vocation as a Baptist Preacher and well
lettered schoolteacher.
The source of some of this information is A.P. Hinman and his book, "How a British Subject
became President of the United States. Hinman was a lawyer, and the spokesperson for the Customs
Investigation Commission set up by President Rutherford B. Hayes by Executive Order to investigate
corruption in the New York Customs House, led by Chester Arthur as the Collector for the Port of New
York.36 He had every reason to try and make as strong a case as he could, including perhaps bending or
miss-representing facts. After a couple of years, the commission was eventually successful in the fact that
Hayes removed Arthur from the post of Port Collector during the summer congressional recess of 1880,
when Arthurs patron congressmen were unable to protect him.37 This success would not be the end of
Hinmans role however.
Hinman would be hired to look into the Arthur family history, with the intent of proving that
President Chester Arthur was not a natural born Citizen of the United States by virtue of his place of
birth.38Hinmans text would be entered into the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington D.C.
in 1854, a year before President Arthur would leave office, without running for a second term. The
President was fatally ill39, and would die months after his Term ended on Nov. 16, 1886, as he had
suffered in secret for much of his Presidency with Brights disease, a kidney ailment.40 His name would
be offered up during the nomination process but his heart was not in it, he did not have the health or the
strength and he knew it.41 President Arthur would only put himself up for nomination in a token manner,
in order to influence the outcome of who would end up being nominated. Records of Arthurs Presidency
are scarce, it is difficult to know how much he did or did not want the nomination; clearly with something
to hide, he burnt most of his records.42 43
Hinman was correct in many of the details in his book, but since the time it was written, it has
been determined that Chester Alan Arthur was indeed born in Vermont. The frequent movements of the
family and poor recollections of those the Author interviewed and received letters from led to some
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confusion about Chester Alan Arthurs birth place. Certainly President Arthur would not help matters by
destroying his records44, but the Arthur Family Bible would settle the matter, as it was the only record of
his birth45, something not unusual at the time. As a lawyer and someone well versed in making the law do
what was needed for the Party Machine, Arthur had to have been aware that he was at birth a British
Citizen through his father. He was a practicing lawyer during the time that the 14th Amendment was being
debated, and ratified in 1867. There is evidence that Arthur attempted to change his personal history and
he is known to have lied about his parents.
(Arthur 3) Brooklyn Daily Eagle August 13, 188046
The above article (Arthur 3) was printed in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on August 13, 1880 and
included statements from A. P. Hinman as well, telling that he had been hired at the time of the
Republican Convention to look into the matter and circumstances of Chester Arthurs birth by two men
who remain unidentified (See Arthur 4).47
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(Arthur 4) The Brooklyn Daily Eagle Aug 13, 1880
Hinman asserted in the same article interview (Arthur 4) that Chester Arthur had been born in Ireland or
Scotland.48 This was incorrect and was also later proven by the Arthur Family Bible.49 Arthur states in his
reply to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle that his father was 18 upon arrival to Canada, which given the date of
his birth in Ireland in 1796, could not be correct. William Arthur Sr. was at least 22. When Hinman
published his book in 1884 he would by then have the dates correct. This does not correct Arthurs
account of the age of his father in this interview. Also, Arthurs father did not come to This country. He
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went to Canada and lived there for several years before marrying. Either Arthur did not know his family
history, or he was deliberately falsifying that history. A couple of days later he would repeat the falsehood
and embellish it (See Arthur 5).50
(Arthur 5) The Brooklyn Daily Eagle August 15, 188051
The picture (Arthur 2) above from The Gentleman Boss: The life of Chester Alan Arthur by
Thomas C. Reeves, shows that President Chester Arthur was born in Fairfield Vermont and cites the
Arthur Family Bible as the source of the information.52 That Bible is located at the Library of Congress
(Call Number: BS185 1857 .P5).
Ultimately Hinman was on the right track; President Arthur was not a natural born citizen, not
because of where he was born, but because of the circumstance of his birth, the alien status of his father.
Unless Hinman was part of a deliberate smokescreen to send those looking into the matter off on a wild
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goose chase, attempting to erroneously prove a Canadian or Irish birth place for President Arthur, he was
making the same mistake that his contemporaries are making today.
Hinman was looking at Chester Arthurs place of birth instead of the circumstance of his birth.
Natural Born Citizenship status is established at the moment of birth, and in that moment Arthur inherited
his fathers Nationality. His father was British. This is a direct parallel to current President Barrack
Hussein Obama Jr., who was born in Hawaii to a British father. Both of these Presidents would go to
some lengths to distract the people from the issue of their British fathers.
No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of
the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President- Article 2
Section 1 U.S. Constitution.
The writers of the United States Constitution specifically separated Citizenship into two
different categories for the qualifications for President; that of Citizen, and natural born Citizen.
They did not include naturalized citizen at all, and so naturalized citizens are not able to legally
become President or Vice President, as that office holds the same requirements as President. This
brings up the discussion, what exactly is a natural born Citizen? This is a pressing question that,
while it has been answered indirectly several times in history, has not been specifically dealt with
by the Supreme Court, and the Constitution of the United States does not define it. The Founders
relied on a number of different works when choosing the language and specifics in the document
they were creating. One of these documents, perhaps the most important, was The Law of
Nations by Emerich Vattel. The Law of Nations codifies a phrase that was common knowledge,
and accepted law in establishing the citizenship of a child in 1758 when it was originally written.
The natives, or natural-born citizens, are thofe born in the country, of parents who are
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citizens.53 Given that our constitution takes and uses a great many of the definitions in Vattels
work, it is likely (though hotly debated today) this definition is exactly the one used by the
Founding Fathers. Alexander Hamilton described the seriousness the Founders took the matter to
be in what is known as the Federalist Papers, this from #68:
Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed
to cabal, intrigue, and corruption. These most deadly adversaries of republican
government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more
than one querter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper
ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature
of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union? But the convention have guarded
against all danger of this sort, with the most provident and judicious attention.54
The reasoning behind the term Natural Born Citizen is simple. The Founding fathers
considered it a matter of National Security, and indeed it is.
In 1884, during the Arthur Presidency, an article was written by the esteemed George D.
Collins Esq. regarding Citizenship: "Are Persons Born Within the United States Ipso Facto
Citizens thereof?"55 Had President Arthur read it, would have concerned him greatly. Collins
goes into detail regarding issues that determine a persons status. At the end ofhis article he
concludes:
Birth, therefore, does not ipso facto confer citizenship, and it is essential in order that a
person be a native or natural born citizen of the United States, that his father be at the
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time of the birth of such person a citizen thereof, or in the case he be illegitimate, that his
mother be a citizen thereof at the time of such birth.56
In the third paragraph Collins asks the point of his article: But the question presents itself, are
persons born within the United States, whose fathers at the time of such birth were aliens citizens
there of? Collins draws on the 14th Amendment, which at the time was a recent addition to the
Constitution, and fresh on the minds of many people. That phrase was: All persons born or
naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United
States and of the State wherein they reside.57 Collins defines for the reader that the term
jurisdiction thereof means not subject to any foreign power and he relies on this definition
based upon numerous sources, including Vattel.58 He quotes:
As the society can not exist and perpetuate itself otherwise than by the children of
citizens, those children naturally follow the condition of their fathers and succeed to all
their rights, The society is supposed to desire this in consequence of what it owes to its
own preservation, and it is presumed as a matter of course that each citizen on entering
into society reserves to his children the right of becoming members of it.59
This article was written while President Arthur was still in office. Had Collins known the
fact that the Presidents father was not a naturalized citizen at the time of his sons birth, he
would have concluded that Chester would have inherited the citizenship of his father, British
Citizenship, and not been eligible for the office of President.
To date, the Supreme Court of the United States has taken several citizenship cases
brought to it. In the case of United States vs. Wong Kim Ark, Wong was the son of two Chinese
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immigrants60. He was born in the United States in California, and had gone to China twice for
short visits.61 Upon return to the U.S. in 1895 was denied permission to enter the country by
Customs, which stated that he was not a citizen.62 Wong won his case; the court determined that
he was a citizen, but did not state that he was a natural born citizen.63 As his parents were not
citizens, the son could not inherit natural born status from them. He was a citizen by virtue of the
fact he was born in California and for no other reason. This case did not specifically define
natural born citizen directly, but made the direct distinction between the statuses of the two. In
fact, Justice Gray in the decision actually quotes part of the decision in Minor v. Happersett,
decided in 1875 in the Decision:
At common law, with the nomenclature of which the framers of the constitution were
familiar, it was never doubted that all children born in a country, of parents who were its
citizens, became themselves, upon their birth, citizens also.These were natives ornatural-born citizens, as distinguished from aliens or foreigners. Some authorities go
further, and include as citizens children born within the jurisdiction, without reference to
the citizenship of their parents. As to this class there have been doubts, but never as to
the first. For the purposes of this case, it is not necessary to solve these doubts. It is
sufficient, for everything we have now to consider, that all children, born of citizen
parents within the jurisdiction, are themselves citizens.64
The case Minor v. Happersett decided in 1875, was is one of the earliest applications of the 14 th
Amendmenta result of the Civil War, and gave citizenship rights to African-Americans.
Certainly Arthur was aware of the meaning of this Amendment through his work on the two
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AfricanAmerican civil rights cases for the Culver law firm in 1850s. Surely he would have
had some interest in one of the first cases to put the new Amendment to the test.
With certainty, William Arthur was not at the time of Chester Arthurs birth a citizen of
the United States65, it is doubtful that had the real immigration status of Chesters father been
known, he would have been nominated to the Vice Presidency because he did not meet the
natural born Citizen clause stated in Article 2 Section 1 of the Constitution. The truth that
Hinman was looking for was right in the open; he simply was not looking in the right place.
Hinman was looking for a place of birth rather than a circumstance of birth. The Citizenship of
Arthurs father was the circumstance by which Chester Alan Arthur inherited his fathers British
Citizenship. Natural born status is decided at birth, and at no other time, it is a circumstance of
birth.
To date, the Supreme Court of the United States has not directly defined the legal
meaning of natural born Citizen, and it is not defined in the Constitution. However, should the
information in this essay become common knowledge, the opportunity for SCOTUS to
specifically define the term may happen sooner rather than later. The current President of the
United States is the admitted son of a British father who was never at any time a Citizen of the
United States of America.
When Barack Obama Jr. was born on Aug. 4,1961, in Honolulu, Kenya was a British
colony, still part of the United Kingdoms dwindling empire. As a Kenyan native, Barack
Obama Sr. was a British subject whose citizenship status was governed by The British
Nationality Act of 1948. That same act governed the status of Obama Sr.s children.
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Since Sen. Obama has neither renounced his U.S. citizenship nor sworn an oath of
allegiance to Kenya, his Kenyan citizenship automatically expired on Aug. 4,1982.66
-Fight the Smears Website
This quote on the Presidents Fight the Smears webs ite illustrates four things very
clearly:
First: The President is the son of a British Kenyan. Second: his citizenship in Kenya expired in 1982, meaning that another country
had a claim on the President at his birth and he could choose to exercise it as an
adult.
Third: is what it does not say, the Presidents British citizenship could have beenclaimed up to a year after his birth, also indicating that he was subject to the
jurisdiction of another Nation at the moment of his Birth.67
The fourth issue it states right out in the open, at birth, Barack Obama was subjectto the power of a foreign nation, The British Nationality Act of 1948. That same
act governed the status of Obama Sr.s children. and therefore was not at any
time a natural born citizen because of his dual nationality status, and he knows it.
The current President is therefore not a natural born citizen of the United States, and does
not meet the qualifications for the office he holds. Just as in the days of Chester Arthur, this is a
circumstance of National importance, and the people of the United States deserve an answer to
this issue of National Security.
In President Arthurs time, it was not known his father was not a citizen when he was
born. In this present day case, this information is known, and fully admitted to. There are a
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number of cases in courts across the nation which are, just as with Hinman, focusing on the
Presidents place of birth instead of the circumstance of his birth.
President Chester Alan Arthur holds a very special place in American History; he was the
first unconstitutional President, but not the last. Today, history has repeated itself, up to and
including the erroneous focus on a Presidents place of birth rather than the citizenship they
inherited at the moment of their births. If the Commander in Chief is not constitutionally
qualified for the position he holds, it calls into question the very legality of every law he signs,
treaty he makes, and order he gives as President. The potential for abuse by a President not
bound by the Constitution because his citizenship status is breaking it is vast. The very fact of its
known existence could in many ways paralyze the government, and for this reason if no other,
the issue must be addressed. Our Founding Fathers did not take such great care in framing and
writing the document which guarantees us our freedom, to have a future generations ignore one
of its most important details.
Until now, President Chester Arthur has been relatively unknown to modern America.
His Presidency was generally quiet, and he was a good administrator who served the Nation
well, his patriotism and loyalty to the Nation were never called into question. However his
importance in the history of the United States has never been more relevant then it is today.
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Notes
1 The Miller Center, University of Virginia. American President: Chester Alan Arthur: A Life in Brief."
2 The Miller Center, University of Virginia. "American President: Chester Alan Arthur: Life before
Presidency."
3The Miller Center, University of Virginia. American President: Chester Alan Arthur: A Life in Brief."
4 The Miller Center, University of Virginia. "American President: Chester Alan Arthur: Life before
Presidency."
5 Ibid.6 Ibid.7 Ibid.8 Ibid.9
Ibid.
10 The Miller Center, University of Virginia. "American President: James Abram Garfield: James G.
Blaine: 1881 Secretary of State."
11 "Conkling, Roscoe." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition
12 Mark W. Summers,Rum, Romanism and Rebellion: The Making of a President, 1884.
13 Ibid.
14
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, "Mr. Arthur and his Letter of Acceptance." July 19, 1880.
15 The Miller Center, University of Virginia. "American President: Chester Alan Arthur: Campaigns and
Elections.
16 James Henretta. (2009).America: A Concise History, Volume II, 4th Ed.. Boston, Ma: Bedford/St.
Martin. Pg 553
17 United States Senate, "Vice President of the United States (President of the Senate)."
18 The Miller Center, University of Virginia. "American President: Chester Alan Arthur: Domestic Affairs."
19 Ibid.20 Ibid.21 Ibid.
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22 Ibid.23 Ibid.24 Ibid.25 Ibid.26 Ibid.27
Ibid.
28 Leo Donofrio Esq. "Natural Born Citizen - William Arthur Naturalization Documentation." December 6,
2008.
29 A.P. Hinman "How a British Subject became President of the United States. Pg 5
30 Ibid.31 Ibid.
32 A.P. Hinman. "How a British Subject became President of the United States. Pg. 7
33
A.P. Hinman "How a British Subject became President of the United States. Pg. 6
34 A.P. Hinman "How a British Subject became President of the United States. Pg 6-7
35 Thomas C. Reeves Gentleman boss : The life of Chester Alan Arthur. New York: Knopf, 1975.
36 A.P. Hinman "How a British Subject became President of the United States. Pg. 25 -29
37 The Miller Center, University of Virginia. "American President: Chester Alan Arthur: Life before
Presidency."
38 A.P. Hinman "How a British Subject became President of the United States. Pg. 3
39 Summers, Mark W.Rum, Romanism and Rebellion: The Making of a President, 1884. University of
North Carolina Press, 2000. Pg. 125
40 Robert W. Merry "A PRE-IMPERIAL PRESIDENT."National Review 27, no. 39 (October 10, 1975):
1126-1127
41Summers, Mark W.Rum, Romanism and Rebellion: The Making of a President, 1884.
42Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. 2 ed. 3, Miriam A. Drake. New York: Marcel Dekker,
2003. Pg 2365
43 United States Senate, "Vice President of the United States (President of the Senate)."
44 Ibid.
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Cotter pg.22
45 Thomas C. Reeves Gentleman boss: The life of Chester Alan Arthur. New York: Knopf, 1975.
46 Brooklyn Daily Eagle, "Is Mr. Chester A. Arthur a Native Born Citizen?" August 13, 1880.
47 Ibid.48 Ibid.
49 Arthur Family Bible. Philadelphia, 1857, LC call number: BS185.1857.P5, Rare Bk. Coll., Bible Coll.
Library of Congress
50Brooklyn Daily Eagle, "ELIGIBLE. Mr. Chester A. Arthur to the Office of Vice President. August 15,
1880.
51 Ibid.
52 Thomas C. Reeves Gentleman boss: The life of Chester Alan Arthur. New York: Knopf, 1975.
53 Vattel, Emerich. "THE LAW OF NATIONS OR PRINCIPLES OF THE LAW OF NATURE APPLIED
TO THE CONDUCT AND AFFAIRS OF NATIONS AND SOVEREIGNS." 1797. Book I Ch XIX
54 Alexander Hamilton. "The Federalist No. 68: The Mode of Electing the President." March 12, 1788.
55 George D. Collins Esq. "Are Persons Born Within the United States Ipso Facto Citizens thereof?" The
American Law Review (1866-1906) 18 (Sep/Oct 1884):pg 831.
56 Ibid.57 Ibid.58 Ibid.
59 Emerich Vattel. "THE LAW OF NATIONS OR PRINCIPLES OF THE LAW OF NATURE APPLIED
TO THE CONDUCT AND AFFAIRS OF NATIONS AND SOVEREIGNS." 1797. Quoted in George D. Collins.
"Are Persons Born Within the United States Ipso Facto Citizens thereof?" The American Law Review (1866-1906)
18 (Sep/Oct 1884):pg 831.
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Cotter pg.23
60 Cornell University Law School - Supreme Court Collection, "169 U.S. 649 United States v. Wong Kim
Ark." Decided March 28, 1898.
61
Ibid.62 Ibid.63 Ibid.
64 Cornell University Law School - Supreme Court Collection, "88 U.S. 162 Minor v. Happersett." Decided
March 29, 1875.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/search/display.html?terms=Minor%20v.%20Happersett&url=/supct/html/historics
/USSC_CR_0088_0162_ZO.html (accessed Nov. 20, 2009). Qtd. in United States vs. Wong Kim Ark Cornell
University Law School - Supreme Court Collection, "169 U.S. 649 United States v. Wong Kim Ark." Decided
March 28, 1898. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0169_0649_ZO.html (accessed Nov.
20, 2009).
65 Leo Donofrio Esq. "Natural Born Citizen - William Arthur Naturalization Documentation." December 6,
2008.
66Fight the Smears, President Barack Hussein Obama. "The Truth About Baracks Birth Certificate." July
29, 2009.
67 British Nationality Act of 1948
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Cotter pg.24
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