Login to Access Video or Poster Abstract: FRII-07
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Introduction

The radical transformation of President Chester Alan Arthur, from a political &[Prime]spoilsman&[Prime] to civil service reformer could be linked to his fatal diagnosis of Bright&[prime]s disease (chronic kidney disease) early on in his presidency.

Methods

We completed a review of the literature on President Arthur&[prime]s life, with a focus on his transformation from a political &[prime]spoilsman&[Prime] to a political reformer. Did his renal parenchymal disease lead to his passing of the Pendelton Act, which legislated civil service reform? What was the reason behind his passing of radical civil service reform which combated the very system of patronage responsible for his rise to presidency?

Results

President Arthur became the 21st President of the United States in 1881 after James Garfield succumbed to an assassin&[prime]s bullet. Before being chosen as Garfield&[prime]s vice-president, Arthur was known as the consummate political insider during an era that was marked by political patronage or the &[prime]spoils&[prime] system. Thus, when Garfield died and Arthur assumed the presidential mantle, many considered him to have little interest in political reform. The etiology of Arthur&[prime]s transformation from insider to reformer is unclear, however, early on in his administration, Arthur learned that he had Bright&[prime]s disease, a progressive and, at that time, uniformly fatal form of renal parenchymal disease. While Arthur&[prime]s role as a political reformer could be ascribed to his impending mortality, the extent of Arthur&[prime]s uremia, which resulted from progression of his Bright&[prime]s disease, may have moderated his temperament, softened deliberations, and hastened his signing of the Pendleton Act into law. The few primary sources that are available portray a President who is mentally and physically unwell immediately before, during, and after the passage of the Pendleton Act. In other words, Arthur may have been too sick and tired to fight civil service reform and simply signed the Pendleton Act as the path of least resistance.

Conclusions

President Arthur&[prime]s motivation in signing The Pendleton Act remains unclear given his early history, but it is conceivable that the diagnosis and/or the effects of Bright&[prime]s disease contributed to his uncharacteristic action of signing into law such landmark legislation._x000D_

Funding

None