James A. Garfield

James Abram Garfield was born on November 19, 1831, in Orange Township, Cuyahoga County, OhioOhioOhio is a state in the Midwestern United States; its capital is Columbus. It joined the Union in 1803 as the 17th state, the first carved from the Northwest Territory, and its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 11,799,448.Open the full entry, the youngest of five children of Abram Garfield (1799–1833) and Eliza Ballou Garfield (1801–1888). His father died when he was scarcely an infant, and his widowed mother worked a farm outside Cleveland; the family was poor, and Garfield helped her on the farm from childhood.⁠[1][2][3]

Garfield disliked farming and wanted to be a sailor. From August to October 1848, at 16, he left home to work on canal boats between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, fell overboard fourteen times in six weeks and came home with a fever; the Miller Center’s essay relates that while recovering he resolved to succeed through his intellect rather than physical strength.⁠[1][3]

In 1849 Garfield entered Geauga Seminary in Chester, Ohio, while working as a carpenter and teaching part time in district schools. In March 1850 he was baptized into the Disciples of Christ, his parents’ denomination.⁠[1][3]

From 1851 Garfield attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later Hiram College) in Hiram, Ohio, working as a school janitor and teaching in district schools between terms. In 1854, at 23, he entered Williams College in Williamstown, MassachusettsMassachusettsMassachusetts (officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States; its capital and largest city is Boston. One of the original 13 states, it ratified the U.S. Constitution on February 6, 1788, the sixth state to do so. Its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 7,029,917.Open the full entry, as a junior, one of the oldest students there, and graduated with honors in 1856.⁠[1][3]

In 1856 he campaigned in Ohio for the Republican presidential candidate John C. Frémont, and in 1860 for Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States (1861–1865). Born to a frontier farming family in Kentucky, he had less than a year of formal schooling, taught himself law, and served in the Illinois legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives before winning the presidency as the Republican candidate in 1860. During the Civil War he preserved the Union, issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and pushed the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery through Congress. He was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in Washington on April 14, 1865, and died the next day.Open the full entry, opposing the expansion of slavery into the western territories.⁠[3]

In 1856 Garfield returned to the Eclectic Institute to teach classical languages, and from 1857 to 1861 he was its president, teaching Latin, Greek, mathematics and other subjects; he was also a lay minister in the Disciples of Christ.⁠[3][1][2]

On November 11, 1858, Garfield married Lucretia “Crete” Rudolph, a teacher and his classmate at the Eclectic Institute.⁠[1][3]

In 1859 Garfield was elected to the Ohio state senate, becoming the youngest member of the legislature, and studied law in the Cleveland office of Albert Gallatin Riddle; he was admitted to the Ohio bar on January 26, 1861.⁠[1][3]

In mid-August 1861 Garfield organized the 42nd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry; he was commissioned its lieutenant colonel on August 21 and promoted to colonel on November 27, 1861.⁠[3][1]

In January 1862 Garfield’s outnumbered brigade defeated Confederate forces at Middle Creek, giving the Union control of eastern KentuckyKentuckyKentucky is a U.S. state bordered by Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to the north, West Virginia and Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south and Missouri to the west; its capital is Frankfort and its largest city is Louisville. It entered the Union on June 1, 1792, as the 15th state and the first state west of the Appalachian Mountains, and had a population of 4,505,836 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry, and on January 11 he was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers. From September 25, 1862, he sat on a court-martial board in Washington, D.C., hearing cases including that of Fitz-John Porter.⁠[3][1]

In February 1863 Garfield became chief of staff to Major General William S. Rosecrans, commander of the Army of the Cumberland; the Miller Center’s essay states that he secretly sent negative reports about Rosecrans to the War Department. On September 19, 1863, he took part in the Battle of Chickamauga, making a daring ride under enemy fire, and was appointed major general that day; he received notice of the promotion in November.⁠[1][3]

Garfield had been elected in 1862, without campaigning, to represent Ohio’s 19th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. On December 5, 1863, he resigned from the army to take his seat, and he served in the House until 1880, eight terms in all.⁠[4][1][3]

During the war Garfield was a Radical Republican; he later became more moderate and worked for compromise. On Reconstruction he often favored moderation toward the South but eventually voted to impeach President Andrew JohnsonAndrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson (1808–1875) was an American politician who served as governor of Tennessee and as a U.S. senator, and who succeeded the assassinated Abraham Lincoln in April 1865 as the 17th president of the United States, serving until 1869.Open the full entry. He backed Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant (1822–1885) was an American soldier and politician who commanded the Union armies in the final years of the Civil War (1864–1865) and served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877.Open the full entry in 1868 and 1872.⁠[3]

Garfield chaired the House Committee on Banking and Currency from 1869 to 1871 and the Committee on Appropriations from 1871 to 1875; he also chaired the Military Affairs Committee and served on Ways and Means. He designed a schedule for the 1870 census that became the model for the 1880 census.⁠[1][3][4]

Garfield supported hard money tied to gold and opposed unbacked paper currency, the redemption of bonds in greenbacks and unlimited silver coinage, which made him a favorite of eastern “Gold Bug” Republicans; he also opposed the Grange’s cooperative programs and Granger railroad laws, labor unions, the eight-hour day and federally funded relief during the depression of the 1870s.⁠[3][5]

In January 1869 he bought a house on Franklin Square in Washington, D.C.⁠[1]

On September 4, 1872, a New York Sun report on the Crédit Mobilier scandal implicated Garfield and others; Garfield denied the allegation. Crédit Mobilier was the construction company of the Union PacificUnion PacificUnion Pacific Corporation is an Omaha-based U.S. railroad holding company whose Union Pacific Railroad runs freight trains in 23 western states. In 2025 it agreed to merge with Norfolk Southern.Open the full entry, and Garfield was one of several congressmen who held its stock; he later admitted receiving $329 from the company. In 1873 and 1874 the Crédit Mobilier, DeGolyer pavement-contract and “Salary Grab” affairs threatened his reputation; he was criticized for voting for a retroactive salary increase and for a link to the paving contract, but he was returned to the House in 1874 after a hard-fought election.⁠[1][3][4]

From 1876 to 1880 Garfield was Republican minority leader in the House. In 1876 he bought a farm in Mentor, Ohio, and by spring 1880 had expanded its nine-room, one-and-a-half-story farmhouse into a 20-room, two-and-a-half-story house; in summer 1880 reporters began calling the farm “Lawnfield.”⁠[1][6]

Garfield supported Rutherford B. HayesRutherford B. HayesRutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893) was an American lawyer, soldier and politician who served as a U.S. representative and governor of Ohio and was the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881.Open the full entry in the 1876 presidential election. In 1877 he served on the Electoral Commission that decided the disputed election, voting with the seven other Republican members to award the contested electors of South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina (officially the State of South Carolina) is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Ocean bordering Georgia and North Carolina; its capital is Columbia and its most populous city is Charleston. One of the original 13 states, it ratified the U.S. Constitution on May 23, 1788, the eighth state to do so. Its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 5,118,425.Open the full entry, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state in the southern United States on the Gulf of Mexico, bordered by Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas; its capital is Baton Rouge and its largest city is New Orleans. It entered the Union on April 30, 1812, as the 18th state, and had a population of 4,657,757 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a U.S. state occupying mainly the Florida peninsula, with its capital at Tallahassee; its most populous city is Jacksonville. It entered the Union on March 3, 1845, as the 27th state, and had a population of 21,538,187 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry and OregonOregonOregon (officially the State of Oregon) is a state on the Pacific coast of the western United States; its capital is Salem and its largest city is Portland. It was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1859, as the 33rd state. Its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 4,237,256.Open the full entry to Hayes. The Miller Center’s essay states that he also worked behind the scenes on the Compromise of 1877, which ended the military occupation of the South.⁠[1][3]

From 1879 to 1881 he was president of the Literary Society of Washington.⁠[1]

On January 13, 1880, the Ohio legislature elected Garfield to the U.S. Senate; on December 23 of that year he declined the seat.⁠[1][4]

At the Republican National Convention in Chicago in June 1880, no nominee emerged after 33 ballots; on the 34th ballot sixteen WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a state in the north-central United States; its capital is Madison and its largest city is Milwaukee. Wisconsin was admitted to the Union on May 29, 1848, as the 30th state, and the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) counted 5,893,718 residents.Open the full entry delegates voted for Garfield, and on June 8 he was nominated on the 36th ballot, with Chester A. ArthurChester A. ArthurChester A. Arthur (1829–1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as collector of the Port of New York, became vice president in 1881 and, after the assassination of James A. Garfield that year, succeeded him as the 21st president of the United States, serving until 1885.Open the full entry as the vice presidential candidate. The Miller Center’s essay judges that his victory surprised observers who had expected a contest between Grant and James G. Blaine.⁠[4][1][7][5]

Garfield campaigned from the porch at Lawnfield, the first “front porch” presidential campaign, and turned a small library building into his campaign headquarters equipped with a telegraph; by the end of 1880 an estimated 15,000 to 17,000 people had visited his Mentor farm.⁠[8][6][4]

In November 1880 Garfield defeated the Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock for the presidency. Garfield and Arthur won 214 electoral votes and 4,453,611 popular votes (48.3 percent), and Hancock and William English won 155 electoral votes and 4,445,256 popular votes (48.2 percent), out of 9,220,197 popular votes cast; the popular-vote margin of less than one-tenth of one percent was the closest in U.S. history.⁠[9][4]

The Miller Center’s essay judges that Garfield’s narrow win depended on help from Roscoe Conkling, in exchange for Garfield’s agreement to consult Conkling on party appointments.⁠[5]

Garfield took office on March 4, 1881. In his inaugural address he called the end of slavery “the most important political change we have known since the adoption of the Constitution.”⁠[7][10]

Garfield tried to balance the Republican factions and named James G. Blaine secretary of state. Prompted by Blaine, he nominated William Robertson as collector of the Port of New York, challenging Conkling’s New York patronage machine, and Conkling resigned in protest. He also directed investigators to probe the Star Route frauds in postal route contracts fully. The Miller Center’s essay notes that he filled his cabinet without yielding to Stalwart pressure and supported education for Black Southerners and African American suffrage.⁠[10][4][5]

At 9:20 a.m. on July 2, 1881, as Garfield walked through the ladies’ waiting room of the Baltimore and Potomac station in Washington, D.C., with Secretary of State Blaine, on his way to a Williams College reunion where he planned to introduce two of his sons to his alma mater, he was shot by Charles J. Guiteau. Guiteau, 39, had been refused a European consulship and had stalked the president for weeks.⁠[11][4][2]

Guiteau fired two shots: one grazed Garfield’s right arm and the other struck his back, the bullet lodging near the pancreas where doctors could not remove it; Guiteau surrendered to police without resistance. Garfield was taken to the White House and treated by Dr. D. Willard Bliss. Doctors probed the wound without sterile technique and used Alexander Graham Bell’s metal detector to search for the bullet, and Garfield developed an infection.⁠[12][11][10][4]

On September 2, 1881, a cabinet meeting considered whether Vice President Chester A. Arthur should become president or act as president and agreed to consult Garfield first, but he never recovered enough for that.⁠[10]

On September 6, 1881, Garfield was moved to a seaside house at Elberon, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the eastern United States on the Atlantic Ocean, bordered by New York State, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, with the Hudson River forming its northeastern boundary and the Delaware River its western boundary; its capital is Trenton and its largest city is Newark. One of the original 13 colonies, it became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on December 18, 1787, and its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 9,288,994.Open the full entry, to recuperate. After lingering for 80 days he died there at 10:35 p.m. on September 19, 1881, with his wife and daughter at his side, at age 49; the cause was blood poisoning and complications from the shooting. He had served 200 days as president.⁠[1][4][12][11][7]

Garfield was buried at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.⁠[1][13]

At Guiteau’s trial the jury deliberated for one hour before returning a guilty verdict. He was sentenced to hang and was executed on June 30, 1882.⁠[11][12]

After the assassination the National Civil Service Reform League circulated a letter nationwide promoting reform legislation, and on January 16, 1883, President Chester A. Arthur signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act into law. The Miller Center’s essay judges that Garfield’s death helped spur reform of government patronage.⁠[12][5]

The Garfield National Monument Association, headed by Jeptha H. Wade, funded a memorial at Lake View Cemetery; George Keller of Hartford, ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a U.S. state in the New England region. Its capital is Hartford and its largest city is Bridgeport (2010 census). It entered the Union on January 9, 1788, as the 5th state, and had a population of 3,605,944 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry, won the commission in a national competition, and work began in 1885. Garfield’s body was moved to the crypt beneath the memorial hall on May 20, 1890, and the memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day, May 30, 1890, in the presence of President Benjamin HarrisonBenjamin HarrisonBenjamin Harrison (1833–1901) was an American lawyer, soldier, and Republican politician who represented Indiana in the U.S. Senate and served as the 23rd President of the United States from 1889 to 1893.Open the full entry, former president Rutherford B. Hayes and members of the Garfield family.⁠[14][15]

The crypt holds the caskets of Garfield and Lucretia and urns with the ashes of their daughter and son-in-law. In 1985 Lake View Cemetery received a $500,000 federal grant to renovate the memorial.⁠[14]

After the assassination Lucretia used money donated by the public to turn Lawnfield into a memorial and family estate, adding a wing with a library and a vault for her husband’s papers; this memorial library is described as the nation’s first presidential memorial library and set a precedent for later presidential libraries. The Garfield family owned Lawnfield until 1936, when they donated it to the Western Reserve Historical Society.⁠[8][16][6]

In 1980 Congress authorized the James A. Garfield National Historic Site, managed by the National Park Service. The 29-room home is restored to its appearance from 1886 through the early twentieth century, and about 6,000 artifacts owned by the Western Reserve Historical Society, 80 to 85 percent of them original to the Garfield family, are managed day to day by the National Park Service.⁠[6][16][8]

Lucretia Rudolph was born on April 19, 1832, and died at her winter home in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a U.S. state on the Pacific coast; its capital is Sacramento and its largest city is Los Angeles. California was admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the 31st state. Its population at the 2020 Census (April 1, 2020) was 39,538,223, the largest of any state.Open the full entry in 1918. The couple had seven children, two of whom died in childhood: Eliza Arabella (“Trot,” 1860–1863), Harry Augustus (1863–1942), James Rudolph (1865–1950), Mary (“Mollie,” 1867–1947), Irvin McDowell (1870–1951), Abram (1872–1958) and Edward (“Neddie,” 1874–1876).⁠[1][6][7][5]

The Miller Center’s essay groups Garfield with Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester A. Arthur and Benjamin Harrison as four post–Civil War “lost Presidents” who served relatively uneventfully, and notes that he is best remembered for being shot about 100 days after taking office; it adds that historians speculate he would have pursued civil service reform had he lived.⁠[5]

James A. Garfield National Historic Site: Official website: https://www.nps.gov/jaga/index.htm (opens in a new window).⁠[17][16]