Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1882 for the 48th Congress, during President Chester A. Arthur's term. Arthur's Republican Party was badly defeated, losing its majority to the opposition Democratic Party after a campaign that focused on the resistance of Republican leaders to reforming the Spoils system under which government jobs were handed to supporters of winning candidates. After the election, Arthur agreed with the Democrats to pass the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing a professional civil service. However, his actions were too late, as the image of the Republican Party as corrupt was already engrained in the minds of voters. This election also saw the decline of the pro-paper money Greenback Party, and the pick up of several Virgi