The Unexpected President

When President James Garfield was shot in 1881,nobody expected Vice President Chester A. Arthur to become a strong and effective presidenta courageous anti-corruption reformerand an early civil rights advocate. Despite his promising start as a young manby his early fifties Chester A. Arthur was known as the crooked crony of New York machine boss Roscoe Conkling. For years Arthur had been perceived as unfit to governnot only by critics and the vast majority of his fellow citizens but by his own conscience. As President James A. Garfield struggled for his lifeArthur knew better than his detractors that he failed to meet the high standard a president must uphold. And yetfrom the moment President Arthur took officehe proved to be not just honest but bravegoing up against the very forces that had controlled him for decades. He surprised everyone–and gained many enemies–when he swept house and took on corruptioncivil rights for blacksand issues of land for Native Americans. A mysterious young woman deserves much of the credit for Arthur’s remarkable transformation. Julia Sanda bedridden New Yorkerwrote Arthur nearly two dozen letters urging him to put country over partyto find \