[206] He kept up a token effort, believing that to drop out would cast doubt on his actions in office and raise questions about his health, but by the time the convention began in June, his defeat was assured.[206] Blaine led on the first ballot, and by the fourth ballot he had a majority.[207] Arthur telegraphed his congratulations to Blaine and accepted his defeat with equanimity.[207] He played no role in the 1884 campaign, which Blaine would later blame for his loss that November to the Democratic nominee, Grover Cleveland.[208]

Administration and cabinet[edit]
Official White House portrait of Chester A. Arthur (Daniel Huntington)
The Arthur cabinetOfficeNameTermPresidentChester A. Arthur1881–85Vice Presidentnone1881–85Secretary of StateJames G. Blaine1881Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen1881–85Secretary of the TreasuryWilliam Windom1881Charles J. Folger1881–84Walter Q. Gresham1884Hugh McCulloch1884–85Secretary of WarRobert Todd Lincoln1881–85Attorney GeneralWayne MacVeagh1881Benjamin H. Brewster1881–85Postmaster GeneralThomas Lemuel James1881Timothy O. Howe1881–83Walter Q. Gresham1883–84Frank Hatton1884–85Secretary of the NavyWilliam H. Hunt1881–82William E. Chandler1882–85Secretary of the InteriorSamuel J. Kirkwood1881–82Henry M. Teller1882–85
Judicial appointments[edit]
Main article: Chester A. Arthur judicial appointments
Arthur made appointments to fill two vacancies on the United States Supreme Court. 