In ill health and lacking the full support of his party by the end of his term, Arthur made only a token effort for the Republican nomination in the 1884 presidential election. Garfield settled on Arthur, a former Collector of the Port of New York who was closely allied with Conkling. The Garfield-Arthur ticket won the 1880 presidential election, but after taking office, Garfield clashed with Conkling over appointments and other issues. This defeat helped convince many Republicans to support the reform proposal during the 1882 lame-duck session of Congress; the Senate approved the bill 38–5 and the House soon concurred by a vote of 155–47. Arthur signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act into law on January 16, 1883. The bill created a civil service commission to oversee civil service examinations and outlawed the use of 'assessments,' fees that political appointees were expected to pay to their respective political parties as the price for their appointments.
Republican
Republican