Presidents: James A. Garfield

After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, his successors seemed to think it was a fluke due to the Civil War. That is until President James A. Garfield, the

20th President, was assassinated a few short months after he took office. He lingered longer than any of the other presidents to have been assassinated.

James Abram Garfield was born on November 19, 1831 in Moreland Hills, Ohio. He was the youngest of five children born to Abram and Eliza Ballou.

Abra Garfield died in 1833 and James was raised by his mother and is said to be her favorite child. His mother would remarry, but go through a scandalous divorce as he reached his teenage years.

James Garfield escaped through his love of books.

After a short time working in the canals, Garfield went to Geauga Academy for two years. While there he met a fellow student, Lucretia Rudolph. They would later marry.

He later attended and graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts. He worked a variety of jobs to put himself through school and began to feed a growing interest in politics.

In 1858, he married Lucretia Rudolph. The could would go on to have seven children together {two died in infancy}.

In 1861, Garfield was admitted to the bar. He was also appointed to a local state senate seat around this time.

He received a commission of colonel in August 1861, when he joined the 42nd Ohio Infantry regiment. By early 1862, he was promoted to command his own brigade. He and his troops joined Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his forces as they advanced in Mississippi. He was also approached to run for Congress in 1862.

By 1863, he’d worked up to Chief of Staff to Major General William S. Rosecrans. By the time he left his military career, he’d worked up to the title and duties of a major general. He eventually resigned for his political career and to serve in Washington, D.C.

Garfield continued to serve in Congress, while working as a lawyer. He repeatedly won re-election for 18 years, and became the leading Republican in the House. He even argued a case before the Supreme Court in 1866.

James Garfield denied any interest to being nominated for president in 1880. However, he become the Republican nominee. He ended up winning the election.

James Garfield was sworn in as president on March 4, 1881.

On July 2, 1881 while at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. waiting to board a train he was shot by a

disgruntled office seeker, Charles J. Guiteau.

Garfield was taken to a nearby office, where doctor probed his wounds with unwashed hands. He seemed to improve for a while, before his health again took a turn for the worse.

On September 6, Garfield was taken to the New Jersey seaside. On September 19, 1881, after lingering for over two months from his injury he told a friend “My work is done”. James Garfield died later that evening.

He was buried in Cleveland, Ohio and a memorial was built in his honor.

Many modern historians believe that if better medical care had been provided, President Garfield may have survived the assassination attempt.

Historians claim his presidency showed a promising start. His few months in office lead one to wonder what he may have accomplished during his presidency.