How a British Subject Became President of the United States - Arthur P Hinman
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What does the U.S. Constitution say about natural‑born citizenship for the presidency?
Section one of How a British Subject Became President of the United States This is a Librevox recording. All Librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox dot org Recording by Kevin Davidson How a British Subject Became President of the United States by Arthur P. Henman. to the citizens of the United States. The Constitution of the United States was requires that both the president and the vice president should be native born. Article two reads No person, except a natural born citizen or Dot dot dot. shall be eligible to the office of president. An Article twelve of the amendments reads But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president shall be eligible to that of vice president of the United States.
It is a matter of much interest to know whether our present president was eligible to the vice presidency. Chester A. Arthur, when nominated as a candidate for the vice presidency, was, at first, unable to name his birthplace. The party managers insisted that he should name a spot before he wrote his letter of acceptance. At that time he gave out to the press of the country that he was going on a fishing excursion with his friend Robert G Dunn of the Mercantile Agency, in order that he might have time to prepare his acceptance. In point of fact. He started with Mr Dunn for Montreal. in the province of Quebec, Canada. and made a search of the records there to see if anything existed showing that he was born in Canada.
Not finding any there, it occurred to him that he would be safe if he in naming some out of the way place in the United States. And consequently. He chose a place where a deceased brother was born, where and thus made it appear that he was native born. Therefore, it will be still more interesting and entertaining to trace the genealogy of the man who did not want to recall it for himself. A citizen of New York State has ascertained all of the facts and here relates them. Almost a century ago there lived in Balymina County, Antrim, Ireland, a Scotchman named Gavin MacArthur. He had a wife and several children, and had emigrated from Scotland on account of a family difficulty arising from his having embraced the Protestant religion, while his friends and relatives were of the Roman Catholic faith.
Shortly after his arrival in Ireland, his religious zeal caused him to change his family name from MacArthur to Arthur. It is understood that he made this change to distinguish his branch of the family from that of the Roman Catholic branch. In the year seventeen ninety six a son was born to this Gavin Arthur, and he was named William Arthur, in honor of William of Orange. This boy was educated at what was then known as the Blue School in Belfast. He simply acquired a common school education. On leaving school in the year 1818, he emigrated in a sailing vessel from Derry, Ireland to Three Rivers in Canada. It may here be remarked that, like a great many of the young men of his age, he was very fond of the three great evils of this life that is, RWT.
Billy Arthur, as he was familiarly called by his associates in Canada, came direct from Three Rivers to a place called Upper Mills, now known as Stanbridge, Canada, looking for employment as a teacher. He offered to give lessons in writing, being a fine penman at a very small salary, and He was engaged for one term in the year eighteen nineteen. Two of his scholars at that time, Erastus Chandler and Luther Burley, are still living. On leaving Stanbridge, he obtained a government school at Dunham Flats, Canada, a place about seven miles east of Stanbridge. Here he remained for several years, and one of his scholars, Joseph Baker, is still living there. He says that he remembers William Arthur very well, and that he attended his school from about 1819 to 1821.
He remembers his marriage to the daughter of George Washington Stone, a Methodist priest at Dunham. and that they ran across the line to East Berkshire, Vermont to get married. When they returned to Dunham, they lived in the upper part of a house owned by one of Baker's relatives.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What does the U.S. Constitution say about natural‑born citizenship for the presidency?
0:00–11:04
2
Why was Chester A. Arthur unable to name his birthplace when nominated for vice‑president?
11:04–27:59
3
What genealogical evidence does the episode present about Arthur’s family origins?
27:59–46:41
4
How did Arthur’s early career as a teacher, minister, and husband shape his later life?
46:41–1:03:02
5
What political offices and appointments did Arthur hold before becoming president?
1:03:02–1:17:01
6
How did Arthur allegedly manipulate the Custom House and local elections in New York?
1:17:01–1:30:08
7
What were the circumstances of Arthur’s death and how is his legacy portrayed?
1:30:08–1:43:59
8
Why does the book claim Arthur was a British subject and how does that relate to modern concerns about eligibility?
1:43:59–2:20:10
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