In 1881, America gasped at the assassination of President Garfield – cut down by the bullet of Charles Guiteau, an avid believer in the spoils system of corrupt appointments to government jobs. Garfield had opposed this system, but his death led to – very much intentionally by Guiteau – the rise of Vice President Chester Arthur. In contrast, Arthur had not only supported the spoils system, but owed his entire career in government to the corruption of the New York political machine. No one expected anything different from Arthur’s presidency – except for one person. Julia Sand, a 30-year-old New Yorker of no renown, believed Arthur could become someone better. She took it upon herself to write to Arthur 23 times during his presidency, encouraging him to rise above his corrupt past and do what was best for the nation. Motivated by her words, Arthur threw the corrupt out of his sphere of influence and led Congress to pass Civil Service Reform, ultimately bringing an end to the corrupt bureaucratic system that had made him. The story of Julia Sand shows that every American has a say in creating a government that allows its citizens to flourish.

Click below to read the letters.