130 Facts About James Garfield

James Abram Garfield was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4,1881, until his death six months later, two months after he was shot by an assassin.

James Garfield was elected as a Republican member of the Ohio State Senate in 1859, serving until 1861.

James Garfield opposed Confederate secession, was a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and fought in the battles of Middle Creek, Shiloh, and Chickamauga.

James Garfield was elected to Congress in 1862 to represent Ohio's 19th district.

James Garfield initially agreed with Radical Republican views on Reconstruction, but later favored a Moderate Republican-aligned approach to civil rights enforcement for freedmen.

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At the 1880 Republican National Convention, delegates chose James Garfield, who had not sought the White House, as a compromise presidential nominee on the 36th ballot.

James Garfield advocated for agricultural technology, an educated electorate, and civil rights for African Americans.

James Garfield proposed substantial civil service reforms, which were passed by Congress in 1883 as the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act and signed into law by his successor, Chester A Arthur.

James Abram Garfield was born the youngest of five children on November 19,1831, in a log cabin in Orange Township, now Moreland Hills, Ohio.

James Garfield's father Abram was born in Worcester, New York, and came to Ohio to woo his childhood sweetheart, Mehitabel Ballou, only to find her married.

James Garfield instead wed her sister Eliza, who was born in New Hampshire.

In early 1833, Abram and Eliza James Garfield joined the Church of Christ, a decision that influenced their youngest son's life.

Abram died later that year, and James Garfield was raised in poverty in a household led by his strong-willed mother.

James Garfield was her favorite child and the two remained close for the rest of his life.

James Garfield took his mother's side and noted Belden's 1880 death with satisfaction in his diary.

James Garfield enjoyed his mother's stories about his ancestry, especially his Welsh great-great-grandfathers and an ancestor who served as a knight of Caerphilly Castle.

Poor and fatherless, James Garfield was mocked by his peers and became sensitive to slights throughout his life; he sought escape in voracious reading.

James Garfield left home at age 16 in 1847 and was rejected for work on the only ship in port in Cleveland.

James Garfield instead found work on a canal boat, managing the mules that pulled it.

James Garfield attended Geauga Seminary from 1848 to 1850 and learned academic subjects for which he had not previously had time.

James Garfield excelled as a student and was especially interested in languages and elocution.

James Garfield had attended church more to please his mother than to worship God, but in his late teens he underwent a religious awakening.

James Garfield attended many camp meetings, which led to his being born again on March 4,1850, when he was baptized into Christ by being submerged in the icy waters of the Chagrin River.

James Garfield developed a regular preaching circuit at neighboring churches and, in some cases, earned one gold dollar per service.

James Garfield then enrolled at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, as a third-year student; he received credit for two years' study at the Institute after passing a cursory examination.

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James Garfield was impressed with the college president, Mark Hopkins, who had responded warmly to James Garfield's letter inquiring about admission.

James Garfield graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams in August 1856, was named salutatorian, and spoke at the commencement.

James Garfield returned to Hiram to teach at the Institute and in 1857 was made its principal, though he did not see education as a field that would realize his full potential.

Local Republican leaders invited James Garfield to enter politics upon the death of Cyrus Prentiss, the presumptive nominee for the local state senate seat.

James Garfield was nominated at the party convention on the sixth ballot and was elected, serving from 1860 to 1861.

James Garfield's major effort in the state senate was an unsuccessful bill providing for Ohio's first geological survey to measure its mineral resources.

James Garfield read military texts while anxiously awaiting the war effort, which he regarded as a holy crusade against the Slave Power.

At Governor William Dennison's request, James Garfield deferred his military ambitions to remain in the legislature, where he helped appropriate the funds to raise and equip Ohio's volunteer regiments.

James Garfield did so quickly, recruiting many of his neighbors and former students.

The proclamation was surprisingly lenient, as James Garfield now believed the war was a crusade for eradication of slavery.

James Garfield's troops received word of the battle and advanced quickly, joining the rest of the army on the second day to drive the Confederates back across the field and into retreat.

The action, later known as the Battle of Shiloh, was the bloodiest of the war to date; James Garfield was exposed to fire for much of the day, but emerged uninjured.

James Garfield was forced to return home, where his wife nursed him back to health.

James Garfield returned to military duty that autumn and went to Washington to await his next assignment.

James Garfield repeatedly received tentative assignments that were quickly withdrawn, to his frustration.

James Garfield was convinced of Porter's guilt and voted with his fellow generals to convict Porter.

The trial lasted almost two months, from November 1862 to January 1863, and, by its end, Garfield had procured an assignment as Chief of Staff to Major General William S Rosecrans.

Rosecrans had a voracious appetite for conversation, especially when unable to sleep; in James Garfield, he found "the first well read person in the Army" and the ideal candidate for discussions that ran deep into the night.

James Garfield recommended that Rosecrans replace wing commanders Alexander McCook and Thomas Crittenden, as he believed they were ineffective, but Rosecrans ignored the suggestion.

James Garfield argued for an immediate advance, in line with demands from Halleck and Lincoln.

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James Garfield thought part of the army had held and, with Rosecrans's approval, headed across Missionary Ridge to survey the scene.

James Garfield was ordered to report to Washington, where he was promoted to major general.

James Garfield thought he could expect a favorable command, so he decided to see President Lincoln.

James Garfield accepted this recommendation and resigned his military commission to do so.

Once he took his seat in December 1863, James Garfield was frustrated at Lincoln's reluctance to press the South hard.

In debate on the House floor, James Garfield supported such legislation and, discussing England's Glorious Revolution, hinted that Lincoln might be thrown out of office for resisting it.

James Garfield supported the confiscation of Southern plantations and even exile or execution of rebellion leaders as a means to ensure a permanent end to slavery.

James Garfield showed leadership early in his congressional career; he was initially the only Republican vote to terminate the use of bounties in military recruiting.

James Garfield gave a speech pointing out the flaws in the existing conscription law: 300,000 recruits had been called upon to enlist, but barely 10,000 had done so, with the remainder claiming exemption, providing money, or recruiting a substitute.

Lincoln appeared before the Military Affairs committee on which James Garfield served, demanding a more effective bill; even if it cost him reelection, Lincoln was confident he could win the war before his term expired.

Under Chase's influence, James Garfield became a staunch proponent of a dollar backed by a gold standard, and strongly opposed the "greenback".

James Garfield accepted the necessity of suspension of payment in gold or silver during the Civil War with strong reluctance.

James Garfield voted with the Radical Republicans in passing the Wade–Davis Bill, designed to give Congress more authority over Reconstruction, but Lincoln defeated it with a pocket veto.

James Garfield did not consider Lincoln very worthy of reelection, but there seemed to be no viable alternative.

James Garfield attended the party convention and promoted Rosecrans as Lincoln's running mate, but delegates chose Military Governor of Tennessee Andrew Johnson.

James Garfield took up the practice of law in 1865 to improve his personal finances.

James Garfield supported black suffrage as firmly as he supported abolition.

Johnson, an old friend, sought James Garfield's backing and their conversations led James Garfield to assume Johnson's differences with Congress were not large.

James Garfield foresaw conflict even before February 1866, when Johnson vetoed a bill to extend the life of the Freedmen's Bureau, charged with aiding the former slaves.

Conflict between Congress and President Johnson was the major issue of the 1866 campaign, with Johnson taking to the campaign trail in a Swing Around the Circle and James Garfield facing opposition within the Republican party in his home district.

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James Garfield, having overcome his challengers at the district nominating convention, won reelection easily.

James Garfield opposed the proposed impeachment of Johnson initially when Congress convened in December 1866, but supported legislation to limit Johnson's powers, such as the Tenure of Office Act, which restricted Johnson's ability to remove presidential appointees.

On January 7,1867, James Garfield voted in support of the resolution that launched the first impeachment inquiry against Johnson.

James Garfield was present on March 2 and 3,1868, when the House voted on specific articles of impeachment, and voted in support of all 11 articles.

When Johnson was acquitted in his trial before the Senate, James Garfield was shocked and blamed the outcome on the trial's presiding officer, Chief Justice Chase, his onetime mentor.

James Garfield hailed the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870 as a triumph and favored Georgia's readmission to the Union as a matter of right, not politics.

James Garfield came to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee, but it was Ways and Means, with its influence over fiscal policy, that he really wanted to lead.

James Garfield thought the scandal was enabled by the greenbacks that financed the speculation.

James Garfield was not at all enthused about President Grant's reelection in 1872—until Greeley, who emerged as the candidate of the Democrats and Liberal Republicans, became the only serious alternative.

James Garfield offered some of his colleagues the opportunity to buy Credit Mobilier stock at par value, well below what it sold for on the market, and the railroad got its additional appropriations.

James Garfield had said in September 1872 that Ames had offered him stock but he had repeatedly refused it.

Ames testified several weeks later that James Garfield agreed to take the stock on credit, and that it was paid for by the company's huge dividends.

James Garfield's biographers have been unwilling to exonerate him in the scandal.

The law was very popular in the House, as almost half the members were lame ducks, but the public was outraged, and many of James Garfield's constituents blamed him, though he personally refused to accept the increase.

James Garfield thought the land grants given to expanding railroads was an unjust practice.

James Garfield opposed monopolistic practices by corporations, as well as the power sought by workers' unions.

James Garfield supported the proposed establishment of the United States civil service as a means of ridding officials of the annoyance of aggressive office seekers.

James Garfield especially wished to eliminate the practice of forcing government workers, in exchange for their positions, to kick back a percentage of their wages as political contributions.

Grant asked James Garfield to serve as a "neutral observer" of the recount in Louisiana.

The observers soon recommended to the state electoral commissions that Hayes be declared the winner—James Garfield recommended the entire vote of West Feliciana Parish, which had given Tilden a sizable majority, be thrown out.

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James Garfield felt Congress should count the vote and proclaim Hayes victorious.

When Congress debated the Bland–Allison Act, to have the government purchase large quantities of silver and strike it into legal tender dollar coins, James Garfield opposed it as a deviation from the gold standard; it was enacted over Hayes's veto in February 1878.

In 1876, James Garfield purchased the property in Mentor that reporters later dubbed Lawnfield, where he conducted the first successful front porch campaign for the presidency.

Hayes suggested that James Garfield run for governor in 1879, seeing that as a road likely to take James Garfield to the White House.

In 1865, James Garfield became a partner in the law firm of a fellow Disciple of Christ, Jeremiah Black.

James Garfield had heard Garfield's military speeches, and learned of not only his oratory skills but his resistance to expansive powers of military commissions.

In 1873, after Chase's death, Garfield appealed to Grant to appoint Justice Noah H Swayne Chief Justice, but Grant appointed Morrison R Waite.

In 1871, James Garfield traveled to Montana Territory to negotiate the removal of the Bitterroot Salish tribe to the Flathead Indian Reservation.

James Garfield never convinced Charlo to sign, although the official treaty document voted on by Congress bore his forged mark.

James Garfield read widely and moved beyond the confines of his early experience as a member of the Disciples of Christ.

The intensity of James Garfield's religious thought was influenced by his experience in combat and his interaction with voters.

James Garfield denied any interest in the position, but the attention was enough to make Sherman suspicious of his lieutenant's ambitions.

James Garfield rose to defend the men, giving a passionate speech in defense of their right to reserve judgment.

James Garfield gained 50 votes on the 35th ballot, and a stampede began.

James Garfield protested to the Ohio delegation that he did not seek the nomination and would not betray Sherman, but they overruled his objections and cast their ballots for him.

James Garfield appointed Pennsylvania's Wayne MacVeagh, an adversary of Blaine's, as Attorney General.

James Garfield was distracted by cabinet maneuvering, his inaugural address was below expectations.

James Garfield sympathized with them, believing the spoils system damaged the presidency and often eclipsed more important concerns.

Some reformers became disappointed when James Garfield promoted limited tenure only to minor office seekers and gave appointments to his old friends.

Shortly after taking office, Garfield received word of postal corruption by an alleged star route ringleader, Assistant Postmaster General Thomas J Brady.

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James Garfield demanded Brady's resignation and ordered prosecutions that ended in trials for conspiracy.

When told that his party, including his campaign manager, Stephen W Dorsey, was involved, Garfield directed that the corruption in the Post Office be rooted out "to the bone", regardless of where it might lead.

James Garfield believed the key to improving the state of African American civil rights was government supported education.

James Garfield proposed a "universal" education system funded by the federal government.

James Garfield believed Southern support for the Republican Party could be gained by "commercial and industrial" interests rather than race issues and began to reverse Hayes's policy of conciliating Southern Democrats.

James Garfield appointed William H Hunt, a carpetbagger Republican from Louisiana, as Secretary of the Navy.

James Garfield had little foreign policy experience, so he leaned heavily on Blaine.

James Garfield authorized Blaine to call for a Pan-American conference in 1882 to mediate disputes among the Latin American nations and to serve as a forum for talks on increasing trade.

James Garfield sought to expand American influence in other areas, calling for renegotiation of the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty to allow the United States to construct a canal through Panama without British involvement and attempting to reduce British influence in the strategically located Kingdom of Hawaii.

James Garfield considered enhancing US military strength abroad, asking Navy Secretary Hunt to investigate the navy's condition with an eye toward expansion and modernization.

James Garfield composed a speech, "Garfield vs Hancock", and got it printed by the Republican National Committee.

James Garfield decided the only way to end the Republican Party's internecine warfare was for Garfield to die—though he had nothing personal against the president.

Guiteau knew James Garfield would leave Washington for a cooler climate on July 2,1881, and made plans to kill him before then.

James Garfield purchased a gun he thought would look good in a museum, and followed Garfield several times, but each time his plans were frustrated, or he lost his nerve.

James Garfield was struck by two shots; one glanced off his arm while the other pierced his back, shattering a rib and embedding itself in his abdomen.

James Garfield was taken on a mattress upstairs to a private office, where several doctors examined him.

At his request, James Garfield was taken back to the White House, and his wife, then in New Jersey, was sent for.

James Garfield was given morphine for the pain, and asked Bliss to frankly tell him his chances, which Bliss put at one in a hundred.

James Garfield was nourished on oatmeal porridge and milk from a cow on the White House lawn.

James Garfield's body was transported to the Capitol and then continued on to Cleveland for burial.

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James Garfield's body was temporarily interred in the Schofield family vault in Cleveland's Lake View Cemetery until his permanent memorial was built.

On May 19,1890, James Garfield's body was permanently interred, with great solemnity and fanfare, in a mausoleum in Lake View Cemetery.

Harrison said James Garfield was always a "student and instructor" and that his life works and death would "continue to be instructive and inspiring incidents in American history".

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

Thomas Wolfe deemed the presidents of the Gilded Age, including James Garfield, "lost Americans" whose "gravely vacant and bewhiskered faces mixed, melted, swam together".