Overview
James Abram Garfield (1831–1881) of Ohio was the 20th President of the United States. Raised by his widowed mother, his early life was marked by hard work and determination. He pursued his education at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute and Williams College, later becoming a college professor and principal. A staunch Abolitionist, he served during the Civil War, rising to the rank of Major General and earning a reputation as a brilliant military strategist. As a politician, Garfield served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 17 years, advocating for civil rights and economic reform. His presidency, though cut short by assassination, introduced modern campaign techniques and drew attention to issues of corruption and favoritism in the Federal Government.
Personal Facts
- Full Name: James Abram Garfield
- Born: November 19, 1831, Orange Township, Ohio, near Cleveland
- Parents: Abram and Eliza (Ballou) Garfield
- Education: Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later Hiram College) (1851–1854), Williams College in Massachusetts (1854–1856)
- Occupation: College professor, School administrator, Lawyer, Military officer, Politician
- Positions: Brigadier General (USVA), U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator, 20th U.S. President
- Spouse: Lucretia Rudolph (1858)
- Nickname(s): Boatman Jim, Preacher President
- Died: September 19, 1881, Elberon, New Jersey
- Buried: Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio
Biography
Early Life and Education
James Abram Garfield was born on November 19, 1831, in a log cabin in Orange Township, Ohio, near Cleveland. He was the youngest of five children of Abram and Eliza (Ballou) Garfield. Garfield’s father died at age thirty-three when Garfield was just seventeen months old. After his father’s death, Garfield’s mother raised the family by operating the family farm.
Education
Garfield attended local schools, and as a teenager, he briefly worked as a helmsman on the Ohio and Erie Canal. Garfield attended the Geauga Academy in Chester, Ohio in 1849. From 1851 through 1854, he attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later Hiram College) in Hiram, Ohio. Garfield completed his formal education at Williams College in Massachusetts from 1854 to 1856, where he graduated with honors.
Educator
After graduating from Williams, Garfield returned to Ohio, where he worked as a professor of ancient languages at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute from 1856 to 1857. He then served as the principal of the school from 1857 to 1860.
Marriage
During Garfield’s tenure as principal, he married Lucretia Rudolph on November 11, 1858. The couple had met when they each attended the Geauga Academy nine years earlier. One year prior to his marriage, Garfield began studying law, and in 1860, he joined the Ohio bar. Garfield began his political career in 1859 when voters elected him as a Republican to the Ohio Senate, where he served until 1861.
Civil War Officer
When the American Civil War began, Garfield lobbied Ohio Governor William Dennison for a commission in the Union volunteer army. In the summer of 1861, he entered the military with the rank of colonel in command of the 42nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In the autumn of 1861, Major General Don Carlos Buell placed Garfield in charge of the 18th Brigade of the Army of the Ohio and ordered him to clear Confederate forces from eastern Kentucky.
Battle of Middle Creek
In December, Garfield’s brigade departed from Catlettsburg, Kentucky. On January 10, 1862, they defeated the Rebels at the Battle of Middle Creek. Garfield’s victory helped cement the Union’s hold on eastern Kentucky and enabled the Federals to carry the war into eastern Tennessee. For his efforts, Garfield earned a promotion to brigadier general, effective January 11, 1862.
Shiloh and Corinth
After the victory at Middle Creek, army officials ordered Garfield west, where he commanded the 20th Brigade of the Army of the Ohio at the Battle of Shiloh (April 6 and 7, 1862) in Tennessee. Immediately after that battle, Garfield served under Major General Thomas Wood during the Siege of Corinth, Mississippi (April 29 to May 30, 1862).
Illness and Recuperation
During the summer of 1862, Garfield became ill and returned home on leave to recuperate. He returned to active duty in the fall, and traveled to Washington to await orders.
Congressman Garfield
In November, although he did not actively seek office, voters in Ohio’s 19th Congressional District elected Garfield to the United States House of Representatives.
Return to Combat – Gallantry at Chickamauga
In the spring of 1863, Garfield returned to combat duty as Major General William S. Rosecrans‘ chief-of-staff. While with Rosecrans, Garfield served with distinction and he received a promotion to major general for his gallantry at the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia (September 19 and 20, 1863). When Major General Ulysses S. Grant relieved Rosecrans of his command after the defeat at Chickamauga, he chose George Thomas instead of Garfield to command the Army of the Cumberland. Perhaps feeling slighted, Garfield resigned his commission and assumed his seat in Congress in December 1863.
Radical Republican
Upon joining the United States House of Representatives in 1863, Garfield became aligned with Radical Republicans who promoted harsh terms for the South when the war ended. In 1864, Garfield voted in favor of the Wade-Davis Bill, which President Abraham Lincoln pocket-vetoed. Because of Lincoln’s lenient Reconstruction policy, Garfield did not actively support the president’s reelection in 1864.
U.S. Senator
Garfield served in the House of Representatives for nine terms from December 1863 until March 3, 1881. On January 13, 1880, the Ohio Senate elected Garfield to the United States Senate, but he never served because voters elected him to the U.S. presidency later that same year.
Dark-Horse Presidential Candidate
When the Republican National Convention met in Chicago in June 1880, the delegates divided their support for a presidential candidate between three men: Maine Senator James G. Blaine, Ohio Senator John Sherman, and former President Ulysses S. Grant. When none of the candidates could garner enough votes to secure the nomination, Garfield emerged as a compromise candidate. On June 8, 1880, after thirty-six ballots, the delegates selected Garfield as their nominee for the 1880 presidential election. Throughout the summer and fall, Garfield conducted the first “front porch campaign” from his home in Mentor, Ohio. On November 2, he won a close contest against fellow Union Civil War General Winfield Scott Hancock.
Assassination of President Garfield
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite inaugurated James Garfield as President of the United States on March 4, 1881, but he served only six months. At 9:30 a.m., on July 2, 1881, Charles Guiteau, a deranged office-seeker, shot the president at the Sixth Street Station of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad in Washington, DC. Garfield survived the shooting and lingered in poor health for ten weeks before dying from complications on September 19, in the Elberon section of Long Branch, New Jersey. Garfield’s body lay in state in Elberon and Washington before being returned to Cleveland, Ohio for his funeral on September 27. He was buried in Lake View Cemetery. In 1890, President Garfield’s remains were moved to the newly erected Garfield Memorial in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland.
Significance
James A. Garfield was an important historical figure because he served as the 20th President of the United States (1881) and played a brief role in Gilded Age Politics. He was the second president to be assassinated while in office. Garfield was a former Union general and a Republican who campaigned on a platform of civil service reform, and his presidency was marked by efforts to modernize the government and reduce the influence of political bosses. Despite his brief presidency, Garfield made significant contributions to American politics and history, including his support for African-American rights, his efforts to improve education and promote economic growth, and his advocacy for civil service reform.
Accomplishments and Milestones
- 1831, November 19 — James Abram Garfield was born.
- 1833 — His father passed away when he was 17 months old, and his mother managed the family farm.
- 1849 — Garfield attended Geauga Academy in Ohio, marking the start of his formal education.
- 1851–1854 — He studied at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later Hiram College).
- 1854–1856 — Garfield graduated with honors from Williams College in Massachusetts.
- 1856–1860 — He became a professor of ancient languages and principal at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute.
- 1858 — Garfield Married Lucretia Rudolph on November 11; he also began studying law and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1860.
- 1859–1861 — He was elected as a Republican to the Ohio Senate.
- 1861 — Garfield was commissioned as a colonel in the Union Army, leading the 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
- 1862 — He defeated Confederate forces at the Battle of Middle Creek on January 10 and was promoted to brigadier general the next day.
- 1863 — Garfield was appointed chief-of-staff for Major General William Rosecrans and elected to the U.S. House of Representatives while still serving in the army.
- 1863 — He was promoted to major general on September 19 for gallantry at the Battle of Chickamauga and resigned in December to join Congress.
- 1863–1881 — Garfield represented Ohio in the U.S. House, aligning with Radical Republicans and advocating for civil rights.
- 1880 — He was elected to the U.S. Senate on January 13 but declined to serve, focusing instead on his presidential campaign.
- 1880 — Garfield won the Republican presidential nomination after 36 ballots and conducted the first “front porch campaign,” defeating Winfield Scott Hancock on November 2.
- 1881, March 4 — He was inaugurated as the 20th President of the United States.
- 1881, July 2 — Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau and died on September 19 in Elberon, New Jersey.
- 1881 — He was interred at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, later moved to the Garfield Memorial in 1890.
