James A. Garfield

James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th President of the United States , serving a tenure tragically cut short from March 1881 until his death in September of that same year, the victim of an assassin’s bullet fired in July. A man of diverse talents, Garfield’s life spanned the roles of preacher, lawyer, and Civil War general. He also represented Ohio in the United States House of Representatives for nine terms, an unprecedented feat for a sitting member of the House to be elected to the presidency. Prior to his presidential ascent, he had been elected to the U.S. Senate by the Ohio General Assembly , a position he relinquished upon becoming president-elect .

Born into abject poverty in a log cabin in northeastern Ohio , Garfield’s early life was marked by hardship. Yet, his intellectual curiosity and drive propelled him forward. After graduating from Williams College in 1856, he pursued legal studies, becoming an attorney. His spiritual path led him to the ministry within the Restoration Movement , and he also served as president of the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute , an institution later known as Hiram College .

His political career began in earnest in 1859 when he was elected to the Ohio State Senate as a Republican . A staunch opponent of Confederate secession , Garfield enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War , rising to the rank of Major general . He distinguished himself in battles such as Middle Creek , Shiloh , and Chickamauga . In 1862, he was elected to represent Ohio’s 19th district in Congress, a role he held for many years. Throughout his congressional service, he was a vocal advocate for the gold standard and gained renown as a gifted orator. While initially aligning with Radical Republican Reconstruction policies, he later shifted towards a more moderate stance on civil rights enforcement for freedmen . Garfield’s intellectual prowess extended beyond politics and oratory; he famously developed his own proof of the Pythagorean theorem , published in 1876.

At the 1880 Republican National Convention , Garfield emerged as a compromise candidate for president, securing the nomination on the 36th ballot, despite not actively seeking the office. His 1880 presidential election campaign was characterized by a quiet, front-porch approach, leading to a narrow victory over the Democratic candidate, Winfield Scott Hancock .

During his brief presidency, Garfield asserted executive authority against the entrenched practice of senatorial courtesy in appointments, initiated a purge of corruption within the Post Office , and appointed a Supreme Court justice. He championed agricultural advancements, the education of the electorate, and civil rights for African Americans . He also proposed significant civil service reforms , which would be enacted into law after his death as the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act by his successor, Chester A. Arthur . Garfield navigated the complex factional politics of the Republican Party, particularly the division between the “Half-Breeds ” and “Stalwarts ”, notably by appointing William H. Robertson , a leader of the Blaine faction , to the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York . This move precipitated a political showdown, leading to the resignations of Stalwart leaders Roscoe Conkling and Thomas C. Platt from the Senate.

On July 2, 1881, Garfield’s presidency was violently interrupted when he was shot by Charles J. Guiteau , a disgruntled office seeker. He succumbed to his wounds and subsequent infection on September 19, 1881. His presidency, though short, was marked by a confrontation with the spoils system and a commitment to civil rights, leaving a legacy of potential unfulfilled. Historians often place Garfield in the lower tiers of presidential rankings, attributing this to his truncated term and limited impact, though some acknowledge his promising policies and anti-corruption stances.

Childhood and early life

James Abram Garfield entered the world on November 19, 1831, the youngest of five children, in a humble log cabin situated in Orange Township , now recognized as Moreland Hills, Ohio . His lineage traced back to Edward Garfield, who emigrated from Warwickshire , England, to Massachusetts around 1630. James’s father, Abram, originally from Worcester, New York , journeyed to Ohio with romantic intentions, only to find his intended bride married. He then wed her sister, Eliza, who hailed from New Hampshire. The infant James was named in memory of an older sibling who had passed away in infancy.

A pivotal moment in the Garfield family’s life occurred in early 1833 when Abram and Eliza joined a Stone-Campbell church, an affiliation that would profoundly shape the future president’s spiritual upbringing. Tragically, Abram Garfield died later that same year, leaving Eliza to raise her young children in considerable poverty. James, the youngest, was his mother’s favorite, and their bond remained exceptionally strong throughout their lives. Eliza remarried in 1842, but the union proved unhappy, leading to a scandalous divorce in 1850. James sided firmly with his mother, and he noted the death of his stepfather, Warren (or Alfred) Belden, in 1880 with a distinct satisfaction recorded in his private diary. Eliza’s recollections of their ancestry, particularly tales of Welsh forebears and a knightly ancestor associated with Caerphilly Castle , provided James with a sense of heritage and pride.

The challenges of a fatherless childhood and poverty made Garfield a target for mockery among his peers, fostering a lifelong sensitivity to perceived slights. Books became his refuge, and he developed a voracious appetite for reading. At the age of sixteen, in 1847, he left home, seeking work. After being turned away from a ship in Cleveland, Ohio , he found employment on a canal boat, tending to the mules that towed it. This humble labor was later immortalized in the 1880 campaign biography penned by Horatio Alger .

After six weeks of canal work, illness forced Garfield to return home. During his convalescence, his mother and a local educator arranged for him to dedicate a year to schooling, foregoing further canal employment. In 1848, he began his studies at Geauga Seminary in Chester Township, Geauga County, Ohio . Reflecting on his early years, Garfield expressed regret for his impoverished beginnings, lamenting that “a precious 17 years when a boy with a father and some wealth might have become fixed in manly ways.”

Education, marriage, and early career

From 1848 to 1850, Garfield attended Geauga Seminary, diligently pursuing academic subjects that had previously been beyond his reach. He demonstrated exceptional academic talent, with a particular aptitude for languages and elocution. It was during this period that he began to grasp the profound influence a speaker could wield over an audience, writing that the speaker’s platform “creates some excitement. I love agitation and investigation and glory in defending unpopular truth against popular error.” Geauga Seminary was a coeducational institution, and it was here that Garfield first met and was attracted to one of his classmates, Lucretia Rudolph , whom he would later marry. To finance his education, he worked as a carpenter’s assistant and a teacher. The necessity of moving from town to town in search of teaching employment fostered in Garfield a strong dislike for what he termed “place-seeking,” a sentiment that, he claimed, became “the law of my life.” This aversion to politicking for positions would later manifest in his willingness to forgo opportunities that might have been readily available through less scrupulous means.

While Garfield attended church primarily to please his mother, his late teenage years marked a period of profound religious awakening. He became a fervent participant in camp meetings , culminating in his spiritual rebirth on March 4, 1850, when he was baptized by immersion in the frigid waters of the Chagrin River .

Following his departure from Geauga, Garfield spent a year engaged in various occupations, including teaching. Inspired by accounts of New Englanders who financed their college education through work, Garfield resolved to follow a similar path and sought an institution that could prepare him for the rigorous entrance examinations. From 1851 to 1854, he attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute in Hiram, Ohio . This school, founded by and still affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) , became his academic home. His studies there were primarily focused on Greek and Latin, though he possessed an insatiable curiosity for all new subjects he encountered. While working as a janitor to support himself, he also secured a teaching position within the Institute. It was during this time that Lucretia Rudolph also enrolled, and Garfield courted her while teaching her Greek. He simultaneously developed a preaching circuit for neighboring churches, often earning a single gold dollar per service. By 1854, Garfield had exhausted the academic offerings of the Institute and transitioned to full-time teaching.

He then enrolled at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts , entering as a third-year student . He received credit for his prior studies at the Eclectic Institute after passing a preliminary examination. Garfield was deeply impressed by Williams’s president, Mark Hopkins , whose warm response to Garfield’s initial inquiry about admission resonated profoundly. He later articulated his ideal of education as “Mark Hopkins on one end of a log with a student on the other.” Hopkins, in turn, described Garfield’s student days as marked by “a large general capacity applicable to any subject. There was no pretense of genius, or alternation of spasmodic effort, but a satisfactory accomplishment in all directions.” After his first term at Williams, Garfield accepted a position teaching penmanship to students in nearby Pownal, Vermont , a role previously held by Chester A. Arthur .

Garfield graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams in August 1856, delivering the salutatory address at commencement. Biographer Ira Rutkow notes that his years at Williams provided Garfield with invaluable exposure to individuals from diverse social backgrounds, and despite his “unsophisticated Westerner” origins, he earned the respect and admiration of socially conscious New Englanders. Rutkow concludes that “Garfield had an extensive and positive first experience with the world outside the Western Reserve of Ohio.”

Upon his return to Ohio, Garfield’s degree from a prestigious Eastern college conferred upon him a distinct social standing. He resumed his teaching duties at the Eclectic Institute, becoming its principal in 1857. However, he did not view education as the ultimate realization of his potential. The abolitionist fervor he encountered at Williams had ignited his political consciousness, leading him to consider a career in public service. In 1856, he actively campaigned for the Republican presidential candidate John C. Frémont . In 1858, he married Lucretia Rudolph, and together they would have seven children, five of whom survived infancy. Shortly after their wedding, he commenced legal studies in the Cleveland office of attorney Albert Gallatin Riddle , although he conducted his studies in Hiram. He was admitted to the bar in 1861.

Local Republican leaders recognized Garfield’s potential and invited him to enter politics following the death of the presumptive nominee for the local state senate seat. He secured the nomination at the party convention on the sixth ballot and was subsequently elected, serving from 1860 to 1861. His primary legislative endeavor during his single term in the state senate was an unsuccessful bill aimed at establishing Ohio’s first geological survey to assess the state’s mineral wealth.

Civil War

Following Abraham Lincoln ’s election as president, several Southern states declared their secession from the Union, forming the Confederate States of America . Garfield, while awaiting the call to arms, immersed himself in military literature, viewing the impending conflict as a righteous crusade against the perceived tyranny of the Slave Power . The bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861 marked the official commencement of the Civil War , and despite his lack of formal military training, Garfield felt an undeniable obligation to serve in the Union Army.

At the behest of Governor William Dennison Jr. , Garfield initially deferred his military aspirations to remain in the state legislature, where he played a crucial role in securing the necessary funds for raising and equipping Ohio’s volunteer regiments. Upon the legislature’s adjournment, Garfield embarked on a speaking tour across northeastern Ohio, passionately encouraging enlistments in the newly formed regiments. Following a trip to Illinois to procure firearms, Garfield returned to Ohio and, in August 1861, accepted a commission as a colonel in the 42nd Ohio Infantry regiment. As the 42nd Ohio existed only on paper, Garfield’s immediate task was to recruit its ranks, a feat he accomplished swiftly by enlisting many of his neighbors and former students. The regiment then proceeded to Camp Chase , near Columbus, Ohio , for its training. During this period, on November 19, 1861, Garfield was initiated into Freemasonry at Magnolia Lodge, No. 20 in Columbus, Ohio, receiving his third degree after completing his military service in 1864. In December, the 42nd Ohio was ordered to Kentucky, where they joined the Army of the Ohio under the command of Brigadier General Don Carlos Buell .

Buell’s command

Buell quickly tasked Garfield with dislodging Confederate forces from eastern Kentucky, granting him command of the 18th Brigade. This brigade comprised Garfield’s own 42nd Ohio, the 40th Ohio Infantry , two Kentucky infantry regiments, and two cavalry units. Departing Catlettsburg, Kentucky , in mid-December, they advanced through the valley of the Big Sandy River . The march was relatively uneventful until Union forces reached Paintsville, Kentucky , on January 6, 1862. There, Garfield’s cavalry engaged Confederate troops at Jenny’s Creek. The Confederate forces, under Brigadier General Humphrey Marshall , held the town in numbers roughly equivalent to Garfield’s own. However, through astute troop positioning, Garfield deceived Marshall into believing his forces were outnumbered. Marshall ordered a retreat to the forks of Middle Creek, on the road to Virginia, and Garfield pursued. On January 9, 1862, they engaged the Confederate positions in what would become known as the Battle of Middle Creek , the only pitched battle Garfield personally commanded. The Confederates withdrew from the field, and Garfield dispatched his troops to Prestonsburg for resupply.

The battlefield at Middle Creek, with Garfield’s command post indicated on the distant hill.

Garfield’s success at Middle Creek earned him a promotion to brigadier general. Following Marshall’s retreat, Garfield’s command remained the sole Union force in eastern Kentucky. He issued a proclamation offering amnesty to any Confederate soldiers who returned home, pledged to live peaceably, and swore loyalty to the Union. This surprisingly lenient proclamation reflected Garfield’s evolving stance; he now viewed the war as a crusade for the eradication of slavery. After a brief skirmish at Pound Gap , the remaining Confederate units in the region were outflanked and forced to retreat into Virginia.

Garfield’s promotion elevated him to command of the 20th Brigade of the Army of the Ohio. This unit received orders to reinforce Major General Ulysses S. Grant ’s army as it advanced on Corinth, Mississippi , in early 1862. However, before the 20th Brigade could arrive, Confederate forces under General Albert Sidney Johnston launched a surprise attack on Grant’s encampments, pushing them back. Garfield’s troops, upon receiving news of the battle, advanced rapidly and joined the Union lines on the second day of fighting, helping to repel the Confederate assault and forcing their retreat. This engagement, later known as the Battle of Shiloh , was the bloodiest of the war to date. Garfield, though exposed to heavy fire for much of the day, emerged unharmed. Major General Henry W. Halleck , Grant’s superior, assumed command of the combined Union forces and advanced deliberately toward Corinth. By the time they arrived, the Confederates had already evacuated the city.

During the summer of 1862, Garfield suffered from a severe bout of jaundice and significant weight loss, necessitating his return home for recuperation. His wife lovingly nursed him back to health. While he was convalescing, his political allies worked to secure the Republican nomination for Congress on his behalf, though Garfield himself declined to actively campaign for the position. He returned to active military duty in the autumn and reported to Washington, D.C., awaiting his next assignment. During this period of relative idleness, rumors of an extramarital affair caused considerable strain in the Garfield marriage, though Lucretia ultimately chose to overlook the matter. Garfield found his repeated tentative assignments, which were frequently rescinded, to be a source of considerable frustration. Concurrently, he served on the court-martial of Fitz John Porter , accused of tardiness at the Second Battle of Bull Run . Garfield was convinced of Porter’s guilt and voted with his fellow generals to convict him. The trial spanned nearly two months, from November 1862 to January 1863. By its conclusion, Garfield had secured a coveted assignment as chief of staff to Major General William S. Rosecrans .

Chief of staff for Rosecrans

While typically a role for junior officers, Garfield’s influence as chief of staff to General William S. Rosecrans extended beyond mere communication of orders to encompass significant operational management of his Army of the Cumberland . Rosecrans, a man of intellectual curiosity and a keen conversationalist, particularly during sleepless nights, found in Garfield “the first well read person in the Army.” Their discussions, often extending deep into the night, covered a wide range of topics, with a particular emphasis on religion. Rosecrans, who had converted from Methodism to Roman Catholicism , played a role in broadening Garfield’s theological perspective.

Garfield advised Rosecrans to replace two of his wing commanders, Alexander McCook and Thomas Crittenden , whom he deemed ineffective. However, Rosecrans disregarded this recommendation. Together, Garfield and Rosecrans devised the strategy for the Tullahoma Campaign , aiming to pursue and trap Confederate General Braxton Bragg in Tullahoma . Following initial Union successes, Bragg retreated toward Chattanooga . Rosecrans, however, stalled his advance and requested additional troops and supplies. Garfield advocated for an immediate push forward, aligning with directives from Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and President Lincoln. After a prolonged council of war, Rosecrans ultimately agreed to launch an offensive.

The ensuing Battle of Chickamauga , fought on September 19 and 20, 1863, was marred by confusion among the wing commanders regarding Rosecrans’s orders. This led to a critical gap in the Union lines, resulting in a rout of the right flank. Rosecrans, concluding that the battle was lost, ordered a retreat to Chattanooga, where he established defensive positions. Garfield, however, suspected that a portion of the army had maintained its integrity. With Rosecrans’s permission, he rode across Missionary Ridge to assess the situation. Garfield’s intuition proved correct. His daring ride became legendary, and Rosecrans’s misjudgment reignited criticism of his leadership. While the Union army narrowly avoided disaster, they found themselves besieged in Chattanooga by Bragg’s forces. Garfield dispatched a crucial telegram to Secretary Stanton, alerting Washington to the urgent need for reinforcements to avert annihilation. Lincoln and Halleck responded swiftly, dispatching 20,000 troops to Garfield within nine days. Meanwhile, Grant was promoted to overall command of the western armies and promptly replaced Rosecrans with George H. Thomas . Garfield was recalled to Washington and subsequently promoted to major general. Historian Jean Edward Smith notes that Grant and Garfield maintained a “guarded relationship” following Grant’s decision to promote Thomas over Garfield to command of the Army of the Cumberland.

Congressional career

Election in 1862; Civil War years

While serving in the Army in early 1862, Garfield was approached by supporters about running for Congress. The newly drawn and heavily Republican 19th district of Ohio presented a viable opportunity. Garfield harbored concerns that he and other state-appointed generals might be relegated to obscure assignments, and a congressional seat offered a pathway back to his political career. The fact that the new Congress would not convene until December 1863 afforded him the opportunity to continue his military service for a period. While on medical leave at home, he declined to actively campaign for the nomination, entrusting this task to his political managers, who successfully secured it at the district convention in September 1862 on the eighth ballot. In the general election held in October, he defeated D.B. Woods by a substantial two-to-one margin, securing a seat in the 38th Congress .

Just days before his Congressional term was set to begin, Garfield experienced a profound personal tragedy: the death of his eldest daughter, three-year-old Eliza. This loss left him deeply anxious and conflicted, contemplating a return to “the wild life of the army” due to his “desolation of heart.” He also anticipated that the war would conclude before his entry into the House, but this was not the case, and he felt a strong pull towards returning to the field. Believing he could secure a favorable command, he sought counsel from President Lincoln. During their meeting, Lincoln advised Garfield to take his seat in the House, citing a surplus of generals and a deficit of experienced administrators in Congress, particularly those with military insight. Garfield accepted Lincoln’s recommendation and resigned his military commission to do so.

In Washington, Garfield formed a significant friendship with Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase , who saw in Garfield a younger version of himself. They shared similar political outlooks and were both aligned with the Radical wing of the Republican Party. Upon taking his seat in December 1863, Garfield expressed frustration with Lincoln’s perceived reluctance to press the Confederacy aggressively. Many radicals, spearheaded by Pennsylvania’s Thaddeus Stevens , advocated for the confiscation of rebel-owned lands, a measure Lincoln threatened to veto if applied broadly. In a debate on the House floor, Garfield supported such legislation, subtly alluding to Lincoln’s potential removal from office if he resisted such measures, drawing a parallel to England’s Glorious Revolution . Despite his criticisms, Garfield supported Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation , marveling at the “strange phenomenon in the world’s history, when a second-rate Illinois lawyer is the instrument to utter words which shall form an epoch memorable in all future ages.”

Garfield’s commitment extended beyond the mere abolition of slavery; he firmly believed that the leaders of the rebellion had forfeited their constitutional rights. He advocated for the confiscation of Southern plantations and even considered the exile or execution of rebel leaders as necessary steps to ensure a lasting end to slavery. Garfield articulated a clear mandate for Congress: “to determine what legislation is necessary to secure equal justice to all loyal persons, without regard to color.” He offered Lincoln greater support when the president took decisive action against slavery.

Garfield demonstrated early leadership in his congressional tenure by being the sole Republican vote against the termination of military recruiting bounties. He viewed the practice of allowing financially capable recruits to purchase their way out of service (known as commutation) as deeply reprehensible. He delivered a compelling speech highlighting the deficiencies in the existing conscription law: of the 300,000 recruits called upon to enlist, barely 10,000 had done so, with the remainder claiming exemptions, offering payment, or enlisting substitutes. President Lincoln personally addressed the Military Affairs Committee, on which Garfield served, demanding a more effective bill, even if it jeopardized his reelection prospects, expressing confidence in his ability to win the war before his term expired. After numerous unsuccessful attempts, Garfield, with Lincoln’s backing, secured the passage of a conscription bill that eliminated commutation.

Influenced by Chase, Garfield became a staunch proponent of a currency backed by a gold standard , vehemently opposing the “greenback ”. He reluctantly accepted the necessity of suspending gold and silver payments during the Civil War. He aligned with the Radical Republicans in passing the Wade–Davis Bill , a measure designed to grant Congress greater authority over Reconstruction , but Lincoln ultimately thwarted its passage with a pocket veto .

Garfield did not hold Lincoln in the highest regard for reelection, yet he saw no viable alternative. “He will probably be the man, though I think we could do better,” he remarked. Garfield attended the party convention and advocated for Rosecrans as Lincoln’s running mate, but the delegates ultimately chose Military Governor of Tennessee Andrew Johnson . Lincoln secured reelection, as did Garfield. By this time, Chase had departed the Cabinet and been appointed Chief Justice , leading to a more distant relationship between him and Garfield.

In 1865, Garfield resumed the practice of law to improve his personal finances. His legal work frequently took him to Wall Street. Following Lincoln’s assassination, a tumultuous crowd gathered, drawing Garfield into an impromptu speech intended to quell their passions: “Fellow citizens! Clouds and darkness are round about Him! His pavilion is dark waters and thick clouds of the skies! Justice and judgment are the establishment of His throne! Mercy and truth shall go before His face! Fellow citizens! God reigns, and the Government at Washington still lives!” According to Garfield biographer Robert G. Caldwell, this speech, notably devoid of any mention or praise of Lincoln, was “quite as significant for what it did not contain as for what it did.” In subsequent years, Garfield’s public pronouncements regarding Lincoln became more laudatory; a year after Lincoln’s death, Garfield stated, “Greatest among all these developments were the character and fame of Abraham Lincoln,” and in 1878, he referred to Lincoln as “one of the few great rulers whose wisdom increased with his power.”

While in Washington, Garfield was an active member of the Vermont Avenue Christian Church, which later evolved into National City Christian Church , a structure funded and built by the Disciples .

Reconstruction

In 1864, the U.S. Senate passed the 13th Amendment , officially abolishing slavery throughout the Union. However, the amendment failed to achieve the required two-thirds majority in the House until January 31, 1865, after which it was sent to the states for ratification. The amendment’s passage opened the door to further discussions concerning the civil rights of African Americans . Garfield pondered the true meaning of freedom, asking, “[What] is freedom? Is it the bare privilege of not being chained?…If this is all, then freedom is a bitter mockery, a cruel delusion.”

Garfield was a fervent supporter of black suffrage , advocating for it with the same conviction he held for abolition. President Johnson, in the months between his assumption of office and the December 1865 congressional session, pushed for the swift reintegration of Southern states into the Union. Garfield hesitantly supported this policy as an experiment, influenced by conversations with Johnson, who sought his endorsement. Garfield initially believed that Johnson’s differences with Congress were not substantial. However, when Congress convened in December (excluding the elected representatives from the Southern states, much to Johnson’s displeasure), Garfield urged conciliation among his colleagues, though he harbored fears that Johnson, a former Democrat, might align with other Democrats to consolidate political power. Conflict became increasingly evident even before February 1866, when Johnson vetoed a bill to extend the lifespan of the Freedmen’s Bureau , an agency tasked with assisting former slaves. By April, Garfield had concluded that Johnson was either “crazy or drunk with opium.”

The monumental conflict between Congress and President Johnson dominated the political landscape of the 1866 election cycle. Johnson embarked on a controversial campaign tour, the “Swing Around the Circle, ” while Garfield faced opposition within his own party in his home district. With the South still disenfranchised and Northern public opinion largely supporting the Republican agenda, the party secured a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress. Garfield, having successfully navigated the challenges of the district nominating convention, won his reelection bid with considerable ease.

Garfield initially opposed the proposed impeachment of Johnson when Congress reconvened in December 1866. However, he supported legislation designed to curtail Johnson’s executive powers, such as the Tenure of Office Act , which restricted Johnson’s ability to dismiss presidential appointees. Although Garfield spoke infrequently on these matters due to his committee duties, he remained a steadfast Republican vote against Johnson.

On January 7, 1867, Garfield voted in favor of the resolution that initiated the first impeachment inquiry against Johnson , conducted by the House Committee on the Judiciary . On December 7, 1867, he voted against a resolution to impeach Johnson that the Judiciary Committee had presented to the full House, which ultimately failed. On January 27, 1868, he voted to authorize the second impeachment inquiry against Johnson , undertaken by the House Select Committee on Reconstruction . Due to a court case, he was absent on February 24, 1868, when the House voted to impeach Johnson, but he subsequently delivered a speech aligning himself with Thaddeus Stevens and other proponents of Johnson’s removal. During the House debate on the articles of impeachment on March 2 and 3, 1868, Garfield voted in favor of all eleven articles. He argued that Johnson’s attempts to manipulate figures like Ulysses S. Grant , William Tecumseh Sherman , and William H. Emory demonstrated a clear intent to disregard the law and subvert the Constitution, even suggesting that Johnson’s trial could be expedited to a single day to hasten his removal. Garfield was deeply shocked by Johnson’s acquittal in his trial before the Senate , attributing the outcome to the presiding officer, Chief Justice Chase, his former mentor.

By the time Grant assumed the presidency in 1869, Garfield had distanced himself from the remaining radical faction, particularly after the death of their leader, Stevens, in 1868. By this juncture, a significant portion of the Republican Party sought to depoliticize the “Negro question.” Garfield lauded the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870 as a landmark achievement and advocated for Georgia’s readmission to the Union as a matter of right rather than political expediency. A prominent Republican voice, Garfield declared, “[The] Fifteen Amendment confers on the African race the care of its own destiny. It places their fortunes in their own hands.” In 1871, Congress considered the Ku Klux Klan Act , legislation intended to protect African Americans’ suffrage rights. Garfield expressed considerable perplexity regarding the bill, stating, “I have never been more perplexed by a piece of legislation.” He found himself torn between his outrage at the Klan’s violent actions, which he termed “terrorists,” and his concern over the presidential power granted by the act to suspend habeas corpus .

Tariffs and finance

Throughout his political career, Garfield maintained a consistent allegiance to the gold standard, vehemently opposing efforts to expand the money supply through the issuance of fiat currency or, later, through the free and unlimited coinage of silver . In 1865, he was appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee , a position he had long desired, offering him a platform to focus on fiscal and economic matters. He reiterated his opposition to the greenback, asserting, “Any party which commits itself to paper money will go down amid the general disaster, covered with the curses of a ruined people.” In 1868, Garfield delivered a two-hour speech on currency in the House, widely acclaimed as his most eloquent oration to date. In it, he advocated for a gradual return to specie payments, meaning the government would redeem paper money with silver and gold.

Tariffs had been significantly raised during the Civil War. In its aftermath, Garfield, who had diligently studied financial affairs, championed a move toward free trade. This stance diverged from the prevailing Republican orthodoxy of protective tariffs designed to foster domestic industries. This deviation from party policy likely contributed to his removal from the Ways and Means Committee in 1867. Although Republicans retained control of the House until 1875, Garfield remained off that influential committee. He did, however, ascend to the chairmanship of the powerful House Appropriations Committee , but his true ambition lay in leading Ways and Means, given its substantial influence over fiscal policy. One significant factor in his exclusion from Ways and Means was the opposition of the influential Republican editor Horace Greeley .

A portrait of Ulysses S. Grant .

Beginning in January 1870, Garfield, then chairman of the House Banking Committee , spearheaded an investigation into the Black Friday gold panic scandal. In 1869, during Grant’s first presidential term, two New York financiers, Jay Gould and James Fisk , orchestrated a scheme to corner the gold market. The conspiracy unraveled on Friday, September 24, 1869, when Grant, in concert with Treasury Secretary George Boutwell , released gold reserves into the market, triggering a widespread financial panic. During the investigation, allegations surfaced suggesting potential involvement of Grant’s family. To shield Mrs. Grant from the indignity of testifying, Garfield held a private meeting with President Grant at the White House. Upon presenting Grant with testimony implicating him and his family, the President expressed gratitude but declined to read the documents or offer a response. Grant harbored personal resentment towards Garfield for investigating the Black Friday affair and his wife’s potential involvement.

Garfield’s comprehensive investigation and final majority report, released on September 12, 1870, found no indictable offenses and exonerated Grant and his wife of any wrongdoing. Garfield attributed the scandal’s facilitation to the speculative use of greenbacks. Garfield was notably unenthusiastic about President Grant’s reelection in 1872, particularly after Horace Greeley , representing the Democrats and Liberal Republicans , emerged as the sole credible challenger. Garfield famously stated, “I would say Grant was not fit to be nominated and Greeley is not fit to be elected.” Both Grant and Garfield were overwhelmingly reelected.

Crédit Mobilier scandal; salary grab

The Crédit Mobilier of America scandal exposed widespread corruption in the financing of the Union Pacific Railroad , a crucial component of the transcontinental railroad completed in 1869. Officers and directors of the Union Pacific secretly gained control of the Crédit Mobilier of America company and subsequently contracted with it for railroad construction. The railroad, in turn, paid the company’s exorbitantly inflated invoices using federal funds allocated to subsidize the project. Furthermore, the company was permitted to purchase Union Pacific securities at par value, significantly below their market price, generating substantial profits and stock gains, and distributing large dividends. The escalating expenses necessitated further appropriations from Congress. Oakes Ames, a Massachusetts congressman and an official controlling Crédit Mobilier, offered some of his colleagues the opportunity to purchase Crédit Mobilier stock at par value, a considerable discount from its market price, in exchange for their support in securing additional federal appropriations for the railroad.

An editorial cartoon depicting Uncle Sam directing U.S. Senators and Representatives implicated in the Crédit Mobilier scheme toward Hara-kiri .

The scandal broke in July 1872, amidst the presidential campaign. Among those implicated were Vice President Schuyler Colfax , Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson (the Republican vice-presidential nominee), Speaker James G. Blaine of Maine, and Garfield himself. Horace Greeley made little headway in exploiting the scandal for political gain. Upon Congress’s reconvening after the election, Blaine, seeking to clear his name, demanded a House investigation. Evidence presented to the special committee exonerated Blaine. Garfield had stated in September 1872 that Ames had offered him stock, which he had repeatedly refused. Testifying before the committee in January, Ames claimed he had offered Garfield ten shares at par value, but that Garfield had never accepted or paid for them, although a year passed, from 1867 to 1868, before Garfield ultimately declined. Appearing before the committee on January 14, 1873, Garfield corroborated much of this account. Ames testified several weeks later that Garfield had agreed to take the stock on credit, and that it was subsequently paid for through the company’s substantial dividends. The differing accounts centered on a $300 sum that Garfield received and later repaid, with Garfield characterizing it as a loan and Ames as a dividend.

Garfield’s biographers have offered varying interpretations of his role in the scandal. Allan Peskin writes, “Did Garfield lie? Not exactly. Did he tell the truth? Not completely. Was he corrupted? Not really. Even Garfield’s enemies never claimed that his involvement in the affair influenced his behavior.” Rutkow observes, “Garfield’s real offense was that he knowingly denied to the House investigating committee that he had agreed to accept the stock and that he had also received a dividend of $329.” Caldwell suggests that Garfield “told the truth [before the committee, but] certainly failed to tell the whole truth, clearly evading an answer to certain vital questions and thus giving the impression of worse faults than those of which he was guilty.” The corrupt nature of Crédit Mobilier was a poorly kept secret, even discussed on the floor of Congress, leading editor Sam Bowles to remark at the time that Garfield, given his committee assignments related to finance, “had no more right to be ignorant in a matter of such grave importance as this, than the sentinel has to snore on his post.”

Another issue that plagued Garfield during his 1874 reelection campaign was the controversial “Salary Grab ” of 1873. This act increased the compensation for members of Congress by 50%, retroactive to 1871. As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Garfield was responsible for guiding the appropriations bill through the House. During the debate in February 1873, Massachusetts Representative Benjamin Butler proposed the increase as an amendment. Despite Garfield’s opposition, the amendment passed the House and was eventually enacted into law. While the law was highly popular among House members, particularly the many “lame ducks ” whose terms were ending, the public reacted with outrage. Many of Garfield’s constituents blamed him for the increase, although he personally refused to accept the raise. In a year that proved unfavorable for Republicans, who lost control of the House for the first time since the Civil War, Garfield faced his closest congressional election, securing victory with only 57% of the vote.

Floor leader; Hayes administration

The Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives in 1875 resulted in Garfield’s loss of the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee. However, the Democrats did appoint him to the Ways and Means Committee. With many of his leadership rivals defeated in the 1874 Democratic landslide and Blaine’s election to the Senate, Garfield emerged as the de facto Republican floor leader and the presumed Speaker should the party regain control of the chamber.

Garfield held strong views against the land grants awarded to expanding railroads, deeming the practice unjust. He also opposed monopolistic corporate practices and expressed skepticism towards the growing power of labor unions. He supported the proposed establishment of the United States civil service as a means to alleviate the burden of persistent office seekers on public officials. He was particularly keen on eradicating the practice of coercing government employees to contribute a portion of their wages as political donations in exchange for retaining their positions.

As the 1876 presidential election approached, Garfield remained a loyal supporter of Senator Blaine’s presidential ambitions, campaigning vigorously for his nomination at the 1876 Republican National Convention in Cincinnati. When it became evident after six ballots that Blaine could not secure the nomination, the convention ultimately selected Ohio Governor Rutherford B. Hayes . Despite his earlier support for Blaine, Garfield maintained a cordial relationship with Hayes and offered his full endorsement. Garfield had harbored aspirations of retiring from politics after his current term expired to focus entirely on his legal practice, but at Hayes’s request, and to aid his party, he sought and won reelection that October. Any personal celebration was overshadowed by the illness and subsequent death of his youngest son, Neddie, who succumbed to whooping cough shortly after the congressional election.

A painting depicting Garfield (second from right, below the gallery) serving on the Electoral Commission that resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election. The artwork is by Cornelia Adele Strong Fassett .

When Hayes appeared to have lost the presidential election that November to Democrat Samuel Tilden , Republicans initiated efforts to challenge the results in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida, states where they held the governorship. If Hayes carried all three states, he would win the election by a single electoral vote. President Grant requested Garfield’s participation as a “neutral observer” of the recount in Louisiana. The observers subsequently recommended to the state electoral commissions that Hayes be declared the winner. Garfield, in particular, advocated for the disqualification of the entire vote from West Feliciana Parish , which had delivered a substantial majority to Tilden. The Republican governors of the three contested states certified Hayes as the victor, sparking intense outrage among Democrats, who submitted rival returns through their state legislatures and threatened to disrupt the counting of electoral votes—a process constitutionally vested in Congress. To address the crisis, Congress established an Electoral Commission , comprised of eight Republicans and seven Democrats, to determine the election’s outcome. Despite his reservations about the commission’s legitimacy, Garfield was appointed to it, believing Congress should simply count the vote and declare Hayes the winner. Hayes ultimately prevailed by a party-line vote of 8–7. In exchange for recognizing Hayes’s victory, Southern Democrats secured the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.

Although an Ohio Senate seat became available following John Sherman ’s resignation to assume the position of Treasury Secretary, Hayes urged Garfield to forgo seeking it, recognizing Garfield’s crucial role in defending his administration against a hostile Congress. Garfield acquiesced. As Hayes’s key legislative ally in the House, Garfield garnered significant prestige and respect for his skillful navigation of congressional affairs. When Congress debated the Bland–Allison Act , which mandated the government’s purchase of large quantities of silver for coinage into legal tender dollar coins , Garfield vehemently opposed it as a departure from the gold standard. The act was ultimately enacted over Hayes’s veto in February 1878.

In 1876, Garfield acquired the property in Mentor, Ohio , which reporters would later dub Lawnfield . This estate became the site of the first successful front porch campaign for the presidency. Hayes, recognizing Garfield’s potential, suggested he run for governor in 1879, viewing it as a likely stepping stone to the White House. Garfield, however, expressed a preference for a U.S. Senate seat. While rivals were considered for the position, including Secretary Sherman, who sought Garfield’s support for his own presidential aspirations, other candidates eventually withdrew. The Ohio General Assembly elected Garfield to the Senate in January 1880, with his term set to commence on March 4, 1881.

Legal career and other activities

In 1865, Garfield entered into a partnership with Jeremiah Black , a fellow Disciple of Christ and attorney. They shared common ground, with the notable exception of politics: Black was a staunch Democrat, having served in President James Buchanan ’s cabinet. The following year, Black was retained by several Northern civilians accused of treason by a military court and facing the death penalty. Black saw this as an opportunity to challenge the authority of military courts and undermine the Republican administration. Having heard Garfield’s powerful wartime speeches and recognizing his opposition to expansive military commissions, Black entrusted the case to Garfield just one week before its scheduled argument before the U.S. Supreme Court. When Black warned him of the potential political repercussions, Garfield responded, “It don’t make any difference. I believe in English liberty and English law.” In the landmark case of Ex parte Milligan , Garfield successfully argued that civilians could not be subjected to trial by military tribunals, even under martial law, as long as civil courts remained operational. This marked Garfield’s debut before the Supreme Court, where his oral argument spanned over two hours. Despite his wealthy clients’ refusal to compensate him, Garfield had firmly established himself as a preeminent legal advocate.

During Grant’s first term, Garfield expressed dissatisfaction with public service and, in 1872, explored further opportunities in the legal profession. However, he declined a partnership offer from a Cleveland law firm upon learning that his prospective partner had a reputation for being “intemperate and licentious.” In 1873, following the death of Chief Justice Chase, Garfield appealed to President Grant to appoint Justice Noah H. Swayne to the position, but Grant instead nominated Morrison R. Waite .

Garfield’s proof of the Pythagorean theorem, depicted here, features a right triangle within a trapezoid.

In 1871, Garfield traveled to Montana Territory with the objective of negotiating the relocation of the Bitterroot Salish tribe to the Flathead Indian Reservation . Having been informed that the tribe would readily agree to the move, Garfield anticipated a straightforward negotiation. Instead, he encountered the Salish people’s resolute determination to remain in their ancestral Bitterroot Valley homeland. His attempts to coerce Chief Charlo into signing the agreement nearly resulted in a military confrontation. Ultimately, he persuaded two subchiefs to sign and relocate to the reservation with a small contingent of Salish individuals. Garfield never secured Charlo’s signature, although a forged mark attributed to him appeared on the official treaty document submitted to Congress.

In 1876, Garfield developed a trapezoid proof of the Pythagorean theorem , which was subsequently published in the New England Journal of Education . Mathematics historian William Dunham lauded Garfield’s trapezoid proof as “really a very clever proof.” According to the Journal, Garfield conceived of the proof during “mathematical amusements and discussions with other members of congress.”

Following his conversion experience in 1850, Garfield placed a high priority on religious inquiry. He engaged in extensive reading, moving beyond the theological boundaries of his early affiliation with the Disciples of Christ. His evolving, broader perspective was anchored in his unwavering commitment to freedom of inquiry and his thorough study of history. The intensity of Garfield’s religious convictions was further shaped by his combat experiences and his interactions with constituents.

Presidential election of 1880

Republican nomination

• Main article: 1880 Republican National Convention

Having recently been elected to the Senate with the support of John Sherman, Garfield was initially committed to backing Sherman for the 1880 Republican presidential nomination. However, prior to the convention, a faction of Republicans, including Wharton Barker of Philadelphia, began to consider Garfield the most viable candidate for the nomination. Garfield publicly denied any interest in the presidency, but the burgeoning attention was sufficient to raise Sherman’s suspicions regarding his lieutenant’s ambitions. Beyond Sherman, the primary contenders for the nomination were James G. Blaine and former President Ulysses S. Grant, with several other candidates also attracting delegate support.

The Republican Party at this juncture was deeply divided between two principal factions: the “Stalwarts,” who staunchly supported the existing federal patronage system, and the “Half-Breeds,” who advocated for civil service reform. As the convention commenced, Roscoe Conkling , a prominent New York Senator and the leader of the Stalwart faction supporting former President Grant, proposed a pledge from delegates to support the eventual nominee in the general election. When three delegates from West Virginia refused to commit to this pledge, Conkling sought their expulsion from the convention. Garfield rose to defend the delegates, delivering a passionate speech emphasizing their right to reserve judgment. The assembly responded with resounding approval, turning against Conkling’s motion, which he subsequently withdrew. This powerful oration significantly boosted Garfield’s standing among his supporters, solidifying their belief that he was the only candidate capable of securing a majority of delegate votes.

Following speeches endorsing the other front-runners, Garfield took the floor to place Sherman’s name in nomination. While his speech was well-received, it failed to generate significant enthusiasm for Sherman as the party’s presidential candidate. The initial ballot revealed Grant in the lead with 304 votes, followed by Blaine with 284. Sherman’s 93 votes placed him a distant third. Subsequent ballots indicated a deadlock between Grant and Blaine, neither of whom could muster the required 379 votes for nomination. [Jeremiah McLain Rusk], a member of the Wisconsin delegation, and [Benjamin Harrison], an Indiana delegate, sought to break this impasse by shifting a portion of the anti-Grant votes to a dark horse candidate: Garfield. On the 35th ballot, Garfield gained 50 votes, initiating a surge in his support. Garfield protested to the Ohio delegation, reiterating his lack of personal ambition and his loyalty to Sherman, but his objections were overruled, and his delegates cast their votes for him. In the following round, nearly all of Sherman’s and Blaine’s delegates shifted their allegiance to Garfield, securing him 399 votes and the Republican presidential nomination. The majority of Grant’s supporters remained loyal to the former president, resulting in a disgruntled Stalwart minority within the party. To secure the support of this faction for the national ticket, Chester A. Arthur, a former New York customs collector and a key figure in Conkling’s political machine , was chosen as the vice-presidential nominee.

Campaign against Hancock

Despite the inclusion of a Stalwart on the ticket, the animosity between the Republican factions, stemming from the convention, persisted. To address this, Garfield traveled to New York to confer with party leaders. After successfully persuading the Stalwart contingent to set aside their differences and unite for the upcoming campaign, Garfield returned to Ohio, leaving the active campaigning to others, as was the prevailing custom at the time. Meanwhile, the Democrats nominated Major General Winfield Scott Hancock of Pennsylvania, a distinguished career military officer. Hancock and the Democrats anticipated carrying the Solid South , while much of the North was considered safe territory for Garfield and the Republicans. The campaign’s focus largely centered on a few key close states , including New York and Indiana.

Substantive policy differences between the candidates were minimal. However, the Republicans initiated the campaign by reviving the potent theme of waving the bloody shirt . They reminded Northern voters of the Democratic Party’s alleged responsibility for secession and the ensuing Civil War, warning that a Hancock presidency would undermine the war’s gains, dishonor Union veterans, and fund Confederate veteran pensions from the federal treasury. However, with fifteen years having passed since the war’s conclusion and Union generals leading both major tickets, the “bloody shirt” strategy proved less effective in galvanizing voters. With only a few months remaining before the election, the Republicans shifted their tactical focus to the tariff . Capitalizing on the Democratic platform’s call for a “tariff for revenue only,” Republicans warned Northern workers that a Hancock administration would weaken the protective tariffs that safeguarded their employment. Hancock’s attempt to strike a moderate stance by declaring, “The tariff question is a local question,” inadvertently exacerbated the situation. This Republican strategy proved remarkably effective in uniting the North behind Garfield. Ultimately, out of over 9.2 million popular votes cast, fewer than 2,000 separated the two candidates. However, in the Electoral College , Garfield secured a decisive victory over Hancock, 214 to 155. This election marked a historic achievement, making Garfield the only sitting member of the House of Representatives ever to be elected President of the United States.

Presidency (1881)

• • Presidency of James A. Garfield March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881 Vice President Chester A. Arthur • Cabinet See list Party Republican Election 1880 • Seat White House •

← Rutherford B. Hayes

Chester A. Arthur →

Presidential coat of arms (1877–1913)

Cabinet and inauguration

• Main article: Inauguration of James A. Garfield

President Garfield in the reviewing stand during inauguration ceremonies on March 4, 1881. Line engraving of Garfield, produced around 1902 by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing as part of a presentation album of the first 26 presidents.

In the period leading up to his inauguration, Garfield was preoccupied with assembling a cabinet that could foster harmony between the dominant Conkling and Blaine factions of the Republican Party. Blaine’s delegates had provided substantial support for Garfield’s nomination, earning the Maine senator the prestigious position of Secretary of State. Blaine not only served as the president’s principal advisor but was also reportedly obsessed with overseeing all White House activities, allegedly even employing spies in his absence. Garfield appointed William Windom of Minnesota as Secretary of the Treasury, William H. Hunt of Louisiana as Secretary of the Navy, Robert Todd Lincoln as Secretary of War, and Samuel J. Kirkwood of Iowa as Secretary of the Interior. New York was represented by Thomas Lemuel James , who was appointed Postmaster General. Garfield selected Pennsylvania’s [Wayne MacVeagh], an adversary of Blaine, to serve as Attorney General . Blaine attempted to undermine this appointment by advocating for William E. Chandler , an opponent of MacVeagh, to be named Solicitor General under MacVeagh. Chandler’s rejection by the Senate ultimately prevented MacVeagh’s resignation over the matter.

Due to Garfield’s absorption in cabinet maneuvering, his inaugural address was perceived as a “compendium of platitudes” and failed to meet expectations. However, at one notable juncture, Garfield strongly emphasized the importance of civil rights for African Americans , declaring, “Freedom can never yield its fullness of blessings so long as the law or its administration places the smallest obstacle in the pathway of any virtuous citizen.” Following discussions on the gold standard, the necessity of education, and an unexpected denunciation of Mormon polygamy , the speech concluded. The audience applauded, but the address, according to Peskin, “however sincerely intended, betrayed its hasty composition by the flatness of its tone and the conventionality of its subject matter.”

Garfield’s appointment of James as Postmaster General proved particularly infuriating to Conkling, a political rival of James. Conkling demanded a compensatory appointment for his faction, such as the position of Secretary of the Treasury. This ensuing patronage dispute consumed a significant portion of Garfield’s brief presidency. The feud with Conkling reached its zenith when the president, reportedly at Blaine’s urging, nominated Conkling’s adversary, Judge William H. Robertson , to the influential post of Collector of the Port of New York, a position then held by Edwin A. Merritt . Conkling invoked the long-standing principle of senatorial courtesy in an attempt to block the nomination, but his efforts proved futile. Garfield, who considered this practice corrupt, refused to yield, threatening to withdraw all nominations unless Robertson was confirmed. He declared his intention to “settle the question whether the president is registering clerk of the Senate or the Executive of the United States.” Ultimately, Conkling and his New York colleague, Senator Thomas C. Platt , resigned their Senate seats, seeking vindication at the polls, but faced further humiliation when the New York legislature elected others to replace them. Robertson was confirmed as Collector, marking a clear victory for Garfield. Despite this triumph, and to Blaine’s chagrin, the victorious Garfield reverted to his strategy of balancing party interests by nominating several of Conkling’s Stalwart allies to various offices.

With his cabinet finalized, Garfield was inundated with requests from countless office seekers. He famously exclaimed, “My God! What is there in this place that a man should ever get into it.” While the Garfield family adapted to life in the White House, the president found the demands of the presidency to be exasperating.

Refinance of national debt

Garfield ordered Treasury Secretary William Windom to undertake the refunding (refinancing) of the national debt. This involved calling in outstanding U.S. bonds that bore a 6% interest rate. Bondholders were presented with the option of receiving cash or new bonds at a 3% interest rate, which more closely reflected prevailing market rates. This initiative resulted in estimated savings for taxpayers of $10 million. For comparative context, federal expenditures in 1881 were below $261 million (equivalent to approximately $7.28 billion in 2024).

Supreme Court nomination

In 1880, President Hayes had nominated Stanley Matthews to the Supreme Court, but the Senate took no action on the nomination. In March 1881, Garfield re-nominated Matthews to the Court, and the Senate confirmed him by a narrow vote of 24–23. According to The New York Times, opposition to Matthews’s Supreme Court appointment stemmed from his role in prosecuting a newspaper editor in 1859 who had aided two runaway slaves. As Matthews was “a professed abolitionist at the time, the matter was later framed as political expediency triumphing over moral principle.” Matthews served on the Supreme Court until his death in 1889.

Reforms

• Main article: Star Route scandal

An 1881 cartoon from Puck magazine depicts Garfield discovering a baby at his doorstep labeled “Civil Service Reform, compliments of R.B. Hayes ”. In the background, Hayes, his predecessor, is shown dressed as a woman and holding a bag labeled “R.B. Hayes’ Savings, Fremont, Ohio ”.

Both Grant and Hayes had previously advocated for civil service reform, and by 1881, reform organizations had gained renewed momentum across the nation. Garfield sympathized with their cause, believing the spoils system undermined the presidency and frequently diverted attention from more critical matters. However, some reformers expressed disappointment when Garfield limited tenure appointments primarily to minor office seekers and favored his long-standing associates in making appointments.

The pervasive corruption within the post office also demanded urgent reform. In April 1880, a congressional investigation uncovered significant corruption within the Post Office Department . Allegations suggested that profiteering rings had embezzled millions of dollars by securing fraudulent mail contracts on star routes . After obtaining contracts through the lowest bid, the costs for operating these mail routes were allegedly inflated, with the profits subsequently divided among ring members. Shortly after assuming office, Garfield received information regarding postal corruption involving an alleged ringleader, Assistant Postmaster General Thomas J. Brady . Garfield demanded Brady’s resignation and ordered prosecutions that led to conspiracy trials. Upon learning that his own political party, including his campaign manager, Stephen W. Dorsey , was implicated, Garfield resolutely directed that the corruption within the Post Office be eradicated “to the bone,” irrespective of the potential ramifications. Brady resigned and was subsequently indicted for conspiracy, though jury trials in 1882 and 1883 resulted in his acquittal.

Civil rights and education

Garfield firmly believed that government-supported education was the cornerstone for advancing the civil rights of African Americans . During the Reconstruction era, freedmen had gained citizenship and suffrage, enabling their participation in government. However, Garfield observed that their rights were being progressively eroded by resistance from Southern white society and a lack of educational attainment among African Americans. He expressed concern that they might become America’s permanent “peasantry ”. He proposed a federal government-funded “universal” education system. In February 1866, while serving as a congressman from Ohio, Garfield and Ohio School Commissioner Emerson Edward White collaborated on a bill to establish a National Department of Education. Their objective was to leverage statistical data to persuade the U.S. Congress to create a federal agency dedicated to school reform. However, by the time of Garfield’s presidency, Congress and the Northern white public had largely lost interest in African-American rights, and federal funding for universal education was not enacted during his term.

Garfield also actively pursued the appointment of several African Americans to prominent positions. These included Frederick Douglass as recorder of deeds in Washington, Robert Elliot as a special agent to the Treasury, John M. Langston as minister to Haiti , and Blanche K. Bruce as register to the Treasury. Garfield believed that fostering “commercial and industrial” interests, rather than focusing on racial issues, would cultivate support for the Republican Party in the South. He initiated a shift away from Hayes’s policy of conciliating Southern Democrats. He appointed William H. Hunt , a Republican from Louisiana, as Secretary of the Navy. To counter the resurgence of the Democratic Party in the Solid South, Garfield sought patronage advice from Virginia Senator William Mahone , a leader of the biracial independent Readjuster Party , hoping to leverage the independents’ influence to bolster Republican strength in the region.

Foreign policy and naval reform

• Further information: History of U.S. foreign policy, 1861–1897

James G. Blaine , Garfield’s Secretary of State.

Garfield possessed limited experience in foreign affairs and therefore relied heavily on Secretary of State Blaine. They shared a common objective: to promote freer trade, particularly within the Western Hemisphere . Garfield and Blaine believed that enhancing trade relations with Latin America would effectively counter the burgeoning economic dominance of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the region. By stimulating American exports, they posited that national prosperity would increase. Garfield authorized Blaine to convene a Pan-American conference in 1882, intended to mediate disputes among Latin American nations and serve as a forum for discussions on expanding trade.

Concurrently, they aimed to broker peace in the ongoing War of the Pacific between Bolivia , Chile , and Peru . Blaine favored a resolution that would prevent Peru from ceding any territory. However, by 1881, Chile had occupied the Peruvian capital of Lima and rejected any settlement that would restore the pre-war status quo.

Garfield’s ambitions extended to expanding American influence in other arenas. He called for the renegotiation of the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty to permit the United States to construct a canal through Panama without British involvement. He also sought to diminish British influence in the strategically vital Kingdom of Hawaii . Garfield and Blaine’s vision for American global engagement even reached beyond the Western Hemisphere, as they pursued commercial treaties with Korea and Madagascar .

Garfield also considered bolstering the U.S. military presence abroad, directing Navy Secretary Hunt to conduct an assessment of the navy’s condition with a view toward expansion and modernization. Ultimately, these ambitious foreign policy initiatives remained unrealized due to Garfield’s assassination. Nine countries had accepted invitations to the Pan-American conference, but the invitations were rescinded in April 1882 after Blaine resigned from the cabinet and Arthur, Garfield’s successor, cancelled the conference. Naval reform, albeit on a more modest scale than Garfield and Hunt had envisioned, continued under Arthur, eventually leading to the construction of the Squadron of Evolution .

Assassination

Guiteau and shooting

• Main article: Assassination of James A. Garfield

Charles J. Guiteau had pursued a varied career, but in 1880, he became convinced that federal office could be attained by supporting the perceived winning Republican ticket. He authored a speech, “Garfield vs. Hancock,” which was subsequently printed by the Republican National Committee. In that era, one method of influencing voters involved orators extolling the candidate’s virtues, but as the Republicans sought more prominent figures, Guiteau found few opportunities to speak. According to Kenneth D. Ackerman, Guiteau was reportedly unable to complete his speech on one occasion due to nervousness. Guiteau, identifying as a Stalwart , believed his contribution to Garfield’s victory warranted his appointment as consul in Paris, despite his complete lack of French language proficiency and any foreign language skills. One medical expert has suggested Guiteau may have suffered from narcissistic schizophrenia; neuroscientist Kent Kiehl assessed him as a clinical psychopath.

The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., where Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881. Garfield, shot by Charles J. Guiteau , collapses as Secretary of State Blaine gestures for assistance. Engraving from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper .

One of Garfield’s most taxing duties was meeting with office seekers, and he encountered Guiteau at least once. White House officials suggested Guiteau approach Blaine, as the consulship fell under the purview of the Department of State. Blaine also held regular public receptions, and Guiteau became a frequent attendee. Blaine, having no intention of appointing Guiteau to a position for which he was unqualified and had not earned, cited the Senate deadlock over Robertson’s nomination as an impediment to considering the Paris consulship, which required Senate confirmation. Once the New York senators had resigned and Robertson had been confirmed as Collector, Guiteau pressed his claim, and Blaine informed him that he would not receive the position.

Guiteau became convinced that he had been denied the position due to his Stalwart affiliation. He concluded that the only means to end the internal conflict within the Republican Party was for Garfield to die, despite having no personal animosity towards the president. He believed Arthur’s succession would restore peace and lead to rewards for fellow Stalwarts, including himself.

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was largely attributed to the extraordinary circumstances of the Civil War, leading Garfield, like most individuals, to believe presidential security was unnecessary; his movements and plans were often publicly disclosed in the newspapers. Guiteau was aware that Garfield planned to depart Washington for a cooler climate on July 2, 1881, and resolved to assassinate him before then. He purchased a revolver he believed would be suitable for display in a museum and stalked Garfield on several occasions, but each time his plans were thwarted, or he lost his nerve. His opportunities dwindled to a single chance: Garfield’s departure by train for New Jersey on the morning of July 2.

Guiteau concealed himself in the ladies’ waiting room at the Sixth Street Station of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad , from where Garfield was scheduled to depart. Most of Garfield’s cabinet intended to accompany him for at least part of the journey. Blaine, who was remaining in Washington, came to the station to bid him farewell. The two men were engaged in a deep conversation and failed to notice Guiteau as he drew his revolver and fired twice at Garfield. Guiteau was apprehended swiftly. As Blaine identified him, Guiteau was led away, stating, “I did it. I will go to jail for it. I am a Stalwart and Arthur will be President.” News of his motive—to benefit the Stalwarts—spread rapidly, igniting widespread anger against that faction.

Treatment and death

One bullet grazed Garfield’s arm, while the other penetrated his back, shattering a rib and lodging in his abdomen. “My God, what is this?” he exclaimed. Among those present at the station was Robert Todd Lincoln , who was profoundly shaken, recalling the assassination of his father, Abraham Lincoln, sixteen years prior. Garfield was transported on a mattress to a private office upstairs, where several physicians examined him. At his request, Garfield was taken back to the White House, and his wife, who was in New Jersey at the time, was summoned. Blaine dispatched a message to Vice President Arthur in New York City, who subsequently received death threats due to his perceived animosity toward Garfield and Guiteau’s pronouncements.

Although Joseph Lister ’s groundbreaking work on antisepsis was known to American physicians, few embraced it, and none of its proponents were among Garfield’s attending physicians. The physician who assumed charge at the depot and later at the White House was Doctor Willard Bliss . Bliss, a respected physician and surgeon and an old friend of Garfield, along with approximately a dozen other doctors, began probing the wound with unsterilized fingers and instruments. Garfield was administered morphine for pain and asked Bliss to provide a candid assessment of his chances of survival. Bliss estimated them at one in a hundred. “Well, Doctor, we’ll take that chance,” Garfield responded.

Over the ensuing days, Garfield showed some signs of improvement, as the nation anxiously awaited news from the capital and offered prayers. Although he never regained the ability to stand, he could sit up and write on several occasions. His recovery was viewed so optimistically that a steamer was outfitted as a seagoing hospital to aid his convalescence. He was sustained by oatmeal porridge (a food he detested) and milk from a cow kept on the White House lawn. Upon hearing that the imprisoned Indian chief Sitting Bull was starving, Garfield initially declared, “Let him starve…” but shortly thereafter relented, stating, “No, send him my oatmeal.”

X-ray imaging , which could have aided physicians in precisely locating the bullet within Garfield’s body, would not be invented for another fourteen years. Alexander Graham Bell attempted to locate the bullet using a rudimentary metal detector, but his efforts were unsuccessful, despite the device having proven effective in tests on other individuals. However, Bliss limited its use on Garfield, maintaining control over the diagnostic process. Because Bliss insisted the bullet was lodged in a location it was not, the detector failed to find it. Bell later returned after recalibrating his device, which emitted an unusual tone in the area where Bliss believed the bullet to be. Bliss interpreted this as confirmation of his diagnosis, declaring the test a success and stating:

“now unanimously agreed that the location of the ball has been ascertained with reasonable certainty, and that it lies, as heretofore stated, in the front wall of the abdomen, immediately over the groin, about five inches [130 mm] below and to the right of the navel.”

One method employed to keep Garfield comfortable during Washington’s sweltering summer heat was one of the earliest successful air conditioning units: air propelled by fans over ice and then dried significantly reduced the temperature in the sickroom by 20 °F (11 °C). Engineers from the navy and other scientists collaborated on the unit’s development, though challenges remained, including excessive noise and increased humidity.

On July 23, Garfield experienced a significant decline in his condition, with his temperature rising to 104 °F (40 °C). Doctors, concerned by an abscess near the wound, inserted a drainage tube, which initially provided some relief. Garfield held a brief cabinet meeting on July 29, with members instructed by Bliss to avoid any discussion that might agitate him. Doctors probed the abscess in an attempt to locate the bullet, likely exacerbating the infections. Garfield performed only one official act in August, signing an extradition paper. By the end of the month, he was considerably weaker, his weight having plummeted from 210 pounds (95 kg) to 130 pounds (59 kg).

A depiction of Garfield on his deathbed.

Garfield had long expressed a desire to escape the oppressive heat and unhealthy climate of Washington. In early September, his doctors finally consented to his transfer to Elberon , a community within Long Branch, New Jersey , where his wife had recuperated earlier in the summer. He departed the White House for the last time on September 5, traveling in a specially cushioned railway car. A spur line was hastily constructed overnight by volunteers to connect to the Francklyn Cottage , a seaside mansion generously offered for his use. Upon arriving in Elberon the following day, Garfield was moved from the train car to a bedroom offering a view of the ocean. Meanwhile, officials and reporters maintained what became, after an initial rally, a vigil of impending death. Garfield’s personal secretary, Joe Stanley Brown , reflected forty years later, “to this day I cannot hear the sound of the low slow roll of the Atlantic on the shore, the sound which filled my ears as I walked from my cottage to his bedside, without recalling again that ghastly tragedy.”

Vice President Chester A. Arthur assumed the presidency following Garfield’s death.

On September 18, Garfield inquired of Colonel A.F. Rockwell, a friend, whether he would hold a place in history. Rockwell assured him he would and that he still had significant work ahead of him. Garfield’s response was somber: “No, my work is done.” The following day, Garfield, also suffering from pneumonia and hypertension, expressed astonishment that he could not lift a glass despite feeling relatively well, and then drifted into a pain-free sleep. He awoke that evening around 10:15 p.m., complaining of severe chest pain to his chief of staff, General David Swaim , who was attending him. As he placed his hand over his heart, the president requested a drink of water from Swaim. After finishing the water, Garfield exclaimed, “Oh Swaim, this terrible pain—press your hand on it.” As Swaim complied, Garfield’s hands reflexively rose. Clutching his chest, he cried out, “Oh, Swaim, can’t you stop this? Oh, oh, Swaim!” These were Garfield’s final words. Swaim immediately ordered another attendant to summon Bliss, who found Garfield unconscious. Despite resuscitation efforts, Garfield never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead around 10:30 p.m. Upon learning of Garfield’s death from a reporter the following day, Chester A. Arthur took the presidential oath of office, administered by New York Supreme Court Justice John R. Brady .

According to some historians and medical experts, Garfield might have survived his wounds had modern medical knowledge, techniques, and equipment been available at the time. Standard medical practice in the 1880s prioritized locating the bullet’s path. Several physicians inserted their unsterilized fingers into the wound to probe for the bullet, a common but ultimately detrimental practice. Historians generally agree that overwhelming infection played a significant role in Garfield’s demise. Biographer Peskin argues that medical malpractice did not directly cause Garfield’s death; rather, the inevitable infection and subsequent blood poisoning resulting from the deep bullet wound led to organ damage and spinal fragmentation. Rutkow, a professor of surgery, contends that starvation also contributed, suggesting that “Garfield had such a nonlethal wound. In today’s world, he would have gone home in a matter of two or three days.” The conventional understanding of Garfield’s post-shooting medical condition was challenged by Theodore Pappas and Shahrzad Joharifard in a 2013 article in The American Journal of Surgery . They proposed that Garfield died from a late rupture of a splenic artery pseudoaneurysm , a complication that developed secondary to the bullet’s trajectory near the splenic artery. They also argued that his sepsis was actually caused by post-traumatic acute acalculous cholecystitis . Based on the autopsy report, the authors speculate that his gallbladder subsequently ruptured, leading to a large abscess containing bile adjacent to the gallbladder. Pappas and Joharifard conclude that this caused the septic decline observed from July 23, 1881, onward. They also state that they do not believe Garfield’s physicians could have saved him even with knowledge of his cholecystitis, as the first successful cholecystectomy (surgical removal of the gallbladder) was performed a year after Garfield’s death.

Guiteau was indicted on October 14, 1881, for the murder of the president. During his trial, Guiteau maintained his innocence regarding the killing, admitting to the shooting but denying responsibility for Garfield’s death. In his defense, Guiteau wrote: “General Garfield died from malpractice. According to his own physicians, he was not fatally shot. The doctors who mistreated him ought to bear the odium of his death, and not his assailant. They ought to be indicted for murdering James A. Garfield, and not me.” Following a tumultuous trial, during which Guiteau frequently interrupted and argued, and his defense team invoked the insanity defense , the jury found him guilty on January 25, 1882. He was sentenced to death by hanging and executed on June 30, 1882. Guiteau may have suffered from neurosyphilis , a condition known to cause mental impairment.

Funeral, memorials, and commemorations

Garfield’s funeral train departed Long Branch on the same specially constructed track that had brought him there, traversing tracks adorned with flowers and passing houses draped in flags. His body was transported to the Capitol and subsequently to Cleveland for burial. The profound shock of his death moved Marine Band conductor John Philip Sousa to compose the march “In Memoriam ,” which was played as Garfield’s body was received in Washington, D.C. . From September 21 to 23, 1881, over 70,000 citizens, some waiting for over three hours, paid their respects as Garfield’s body lay in state in the United States Capitol rotunda . On September 25, in Cleveland, Garfield’s casket was paraded down Euclid Avenue from Wilson Avenue to Public Square . Notable attendees included former presidents Grant and Hayes, and Generals William Sherman , Philip Sheridan , and Hancock. An estimated 150,000 people, a number equivalent to the city’s population at the time, also paid their respects, and Sousa’s march was performed again. Garfield’s body was temporarily interred in the Schofield family vault at Cleveland’s Lake View Cemetery pending the completion of his permanent memorial.

Memorials honoring Garfield were erected across the nation. On April 10, 1882, seven months after his death, the U.S. Post Office Department issued a postage stamp in his honor. In 1884, sculptor Frank Happersberger completed a monument on the grounds of the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers . The James A. Garfield Monument was dedicated in Washington, D.C., in 1887. Another monument, located in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park , was erected in 1896. In Victoria, Australia , the locality of Cannibal Creek was renamed Garfield in his honor.

Stereoscopic images of the Schofield family vault, the temporary resting place of Garfield’s remains until his permanent memorial was constructed.

On May 19, 1890, Garfield’s body was permanently interred with significant solemnity and ceremony in a mausoleum at Lake View Cemetery. Among those present at the dedication ceremonies were former President Hayes, President Benjamin Harrison, and future president William McKinley . Treasury Secretary William Windom also attended. President Harrison eulogized Garfield as a lifelong “student and instructor,” asserting that his life’s work and death would “continue to be instructive and inspiring incidents in American history.” Five panels on the monument depict Garfield as a teacher, a Union major general, and an orator ; another illustrates him taking the presidential oath, and a fifth portrays his body lying in state at the Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C.

Garfield’s murder by a deranged office seeker significantly heightened public awareness of the need for civil service reform legislation. Senator George H. Pendleton , a Democrat from Ohio, spearheaded a reform effort that culminated in the passage of the Pendleton Act in January 1883. This act effectively dismantled the “spoils system,” which mandated that individuals pay or provide political service to secure or retain federally appointed positions. Under the act, appointments were to be based on merit and awarded through competitive examinations. To ensure the effective implementation of this reform, Congress and President Arthur established and funded the Civil Service Commission . However, the Pendleton Act initially applied to only 10% of federal government employees. For Arthur, who had previously been known as a “veteran spoilsman,” championing civil service reform became his most notable presidential achievement.

A marble statue of Garfield by [Charles Niehaus] was added to the National Statuary Hall Collection in the Capitol in Washington, D.C. , as a gift from the State of Ohio in 1886.

Garfield is honored with a life-size bronze sculpture within the Cuyahoga County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in Cleveland, Ohio.

On March 2, 2019, the National Park Service installed exhibit panels in Washington, D.C., marking the site of his assassination.

Lawnfield, Garfield National Historic Site , the location of the “front porch campaign ”.

Garfield Memorial at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.

James A. Garfield Monument in Washington, D.C.

James A. Garfield Monument in Rio Arriba County , New Mexico .

First Garfield postage stamp, 1882.

Political views

During his presidency, Garfield opposed labor unions and aligned himself with the hard-money faction of the Republican Party. He also expressed suspicion towards cooperative farm programs supported by the Grange, an agricultural organization he characterized as “communism in disguise.” Nevertheless, Garfield also stood against corporate monopolies and advocated for the establishment of a federal education department, coupled with increased federal support for the education of African Americans in the Southern states.

Another analysis of Garfield’s political philosophy suggests:

“No man could be in politics as long as Garfield had been without forming some opinions of the nature of presidential leadership, and his, by and large, were negative. Philosophically, as has been noted, he was a believer in laissez faire, and he had been suspicious of presidential power from the time when he fought Andrew Johnson.”

Garfield’s successor, Chester A. Arthur , shared his laissez-faire outlook.

Legacy and historical view

For several years following his assassination, Garfield’s life narrative was presented as a quintessential American success story, illustrating how even the most impoverished individual could ascend to the presidency. Peskin remarked, “In mourning Garfield, Americans were not only honoring a president; they were paying tribute to a man whose life story embodied their own most cherished aspirations.” As the partisan rivalry between Stalwarts and Half-Breeds gradually faded in the late 1880s and beyond, so too did the public’s recollection of Garfield. In the 1890s, a sense of disillusionment with politicians emerged, leading Americans to seek inspiration from other figures, such as industrialists, labor leaders, and scientists. Consequently, Garfield’s brief presidency became increasingly overshadowed and forgotten.

• External videos Booknotes interview with Kenneth Ackerman on Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield, July 27, 2003, C-SPAN .

The 20th century witnessed no significant revival of interest in Garfield. Thomas Wolfe described the presidents of the Gilded Age , including Garfield, as “lost Americans” whose “gravely vacant and bewhiskered faces mixed, melted, swam together.” The political figures of the Gilded Age receded from public consciousness, their luster dimmed by those who had profoundly influenced America outside the political sphere during that era: the robber barons , inventors, social reformers, and others who navigated America’s rapid transformation. Contemporary events and more recent figures occupied the nation’s attention. According to Ackerman, “the busy Twentieth Century has made Garfield’s era seem remote and irrelevant, its leaders ridiculed for their very obscurity.”

Garfield’s biographers and scholars who have studied his presidency generally hold a favorable view, acknowledging a promising start cut short by tragedy. Historian Justus D. Doenecke , while characterizing Garfield as somewhat enigmatic, highlights his achievements: “by winning a victory over the Stalwarts, he enhanced both the power and prestige of his office. As a man, he was intelligent, sensitive, and alert, and his knowledge of how government worked was unmatched.” Doenecke, however, criticizes Garfield’s dismissal of Merritt in favor of Robertson and questions whether the president truly maintained control of the situation even after Robertson’s confirmation. In 1931, Caldwell wrote: “If Garfield lives in history, it will be partly on account of the charm of his personality—but also because in life and in death, he struck the first shrewd blows against a dangerous system of boss rule which seemed for a time about to engulf the politics of the nation. Perhaps if he had lived he could have done no more.” Rutkow concludes that “James Abram Garfield’s presidency is reduced to a tantalizing ‘what if.’”

In 2002, historian Bernard A. Weisberger commented, “[Garfield] was, to some extent, a perfect moderate. He read widely (and unobtrusively) without its visibly affecting his Christianity, his Republicanism, or his general laissez-faire orthodoxy. He was not so much a scholar in politics as a politic scholar.” Peskin argues that Garfield deserves greater recognition for his political career than he has received: “True, his accomplishments were neither bold nor heroic, but his was not an age that called for heroism. His stormy presidency was brief, and in some respects, unfortunate, but he did leave the office stronger than he found it. As a public man he had a hand in almost every issue of national importance for almost two decades, while as a party leader he, along with Blaine, forged the Republican Party into the instrument that would lead the United States into the twentieth century.”

See also

• List of heads of state and government who were assassinated or executed • List of presidents of the United States • List of presidents of the United States by previous experience • List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots

Notes

• ^ Divisions within the Stone-Campbell Movement were not formally recognized until the 20th century. The names Christian Church, Church of Christ, and Disciples of Christ were used interchangeably until that time. • ^ Orange Township was part of the Western Reserve until 1800. • ^ Biographer Allan Peskin speculated that Garfield may have had infectious hepatitis . • ^ Until the ratification of the Twentieth Amendment in 1933, Congress convened annually in December. • ^ On June 13, 1868, the House passed the 14th Amendment , which granted African Americans U.S. citizenship. • ^ Garfield typically won by margins two or three times greater than his Democratic opponents. • ^ The War of the Pacific was concluded in October 1883 through the Treaty of Ancón , without direct American intervention. • ^ The precise wording varies across different sources. • ^ “Doctor” was his given name.