Union’s own Chester A. Arthur, the country’s 21st president, is featured in a new documentary airing on WMHT.
“Presidents in Our Backyard.” which debuted Thursday and will be rebroadcast Saturday, May 17, at midnight and Sunday, May 18, at 7 p.m., examines the life of eight U.S. presidents with close ties to New York state.
For a preview of the Arthur segment, click here.
Arthur, Class of 1848, is prominently featured in the one-hour program hosted by Matt Ryan of WMHT. Ryan visited the campus in March, examining artifacts and other memorabilia from Arthur’s days as a student, along with items acquired by the College, including a walnut and leather writing desk (rumored to have a secret liquor cabinet) currently used by President Stephen C. Ainlay.
Rachel Seligman, director of the Mandeville Gallery and curator of the Permanent Collection, and James Underwood, the Chauncey H. Winters Research Professor of Political Science, are interviewed in the program, which also includes scenes of campus and the Chester Arthur statue, which stands outside the gate of Jackson’s Garden.
Local politicians were enlisted to read from letters or speeches of the presidents, with State Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Schenectady, providing the voice of Arthur.
The son of a Baptist minister, Arthur grew up in Union Village, N.Y. (Greenwich, N.Y.) In 1845 he entered Union College, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon and the Delphian Institute debating society. He was elected into Phi Beta Kappa his senior year.
A Republican, Arthur held several positions in New York state government and was nominated to be James Garfield’s vice president in 1880. He was sworn in as president on Sept. 20, 1881, a day after Garfield died from a gunshot wound.
Known as the “The Gentleman Boss” and the “Dude President” for his sense of style, Arthur died from a kidney ailment on Nov. 18, 1886, a year-and-a-half after leaving office, at his home in New York City. He is buried near his wife in the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, N.Y., some 20 miles from his alma mater.
In addition to Arthur, other U.S. presidents featured in the WMHT special are Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Millard Fillmore, Martin Van Buren, Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland and William McKinley.