Chester Alan Arthur became the President

Working tirelessly for the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party, Arthur was nominated to be James Garfield`s Vice-President at the 1880 Republican National Convention. Shot after only four months in office, Garfield lived for eighty days, then died on September 19, 1881. On September 20, Chester Alan Arthur was sworn in as the twenty-first President of the United States.Arthur was passionate about the finer things in life – good food and wine, elegant clothes, and fashionable surroundings. When he moved into the White House he had many of the rooms redecorated by Louis Comfort Tiffany and his firm Associated Artists, the most fashionable interior designers of the time. Perhaps the most magnificent of these spaces was a stained glass screen in red, white, and blue created for the entry hall.As President, Arthur took a generally progressive stand, signing and vigorously implementing the 1883 Pendleton Act, or civil service reform bill. He was also responsible for rebuilding and modernizing the U.S. Navy. Some of Arthur`s other executive actions remain more controversial: after vetoing a first version, he signed into law the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first legislation of its kind to restrict immigration to the United States. Although pressed by some members of the Republican party to continue his public service, Arthur retired from politics after serving his one term as President.