James A. Garfield

President of the United States

James Abram Garfield November 19, 1831 Moreland Hills, Ohio, U.S.

September 19, 1881(1881-09-19) (49) Elberon, New Jersey, U.S.

March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881

20th president of the United States "James Garfield" redirects here. For other uses, see James Garfield (disambiguation). James A. GarfieldPhotograph of Garfield c. 1870–188020th President of the United StatesIn office March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881Vice President Chester A. ArthurPreceded by Rutherford B. HayesSucceeded by Chester A. ArthurMember of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 19th districtIn office March 4, 1863 – November 8, 1880Preceded by Albert G. RiddleSucceeded by Ezra B. TaylorChair of the House Appropriations CommitteeIn office March 4, 1871 – March 4, 1875Preceded by Henry L. DawesSucceeded by Samuel J. RandallMember of the Ohio Senate from the 26th districtIn office January 2, 1860 – August 21, 1861Preceded by George P. AshmunSucceeded by Lucius V. Bierce Personal detailsBornJames Abram Garfield (1831-11-19 ) November 19, 1831 Moreland Hills, Ohio, U.S.DiedSeptember 19, 1881(1881-09-19) (aged 49) Elberon, New Jersey, U.S.Cause of deathAssassinationResting placeJames A. Garfield MemorialPolitical partyRepublicanSpouse(s)Lucretia Rudolph ​(m. 1858 )​Children7, including Hal, James, and AbramParents Abram Garfield Eliza Garfield Education Hiram College Williams College (BA) OccupationPoliticianlawyerSignatureMilitary serviceAllegiance  United StatesBranch/service  United States ArmyYears of service1861–1863Rank Major GeneralCommands 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry 20th Brigade, 6th Division, Army of the Ohio Battles/wars American Civil War Battle of Middle Creek Battle of Shiloh Siege of Corinth Tullahoma Campaign Battle of Chickamauga James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March to September 1881. Garfield was shot by an assassin four months into his presidency and died two months later. He is the only sitting member of the United States House of Representatives to be elected to the presidency. Garfield was born into poverty in a log cabin and grew up poor in Northeast Ohio. After graduating from Williams College, Garfield studied law and became an attorney before entering politics as a Republican in 1857. He served as a member of the Ohio State Senate from 1859 to 1861. Garfield opposed Confederate secession, served as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and fought in the battles of Middle Creek, Shiloh, and Chickamauga. He was first elected to Congress in 1862 to represent Ohio's 19th district. Throughout Garfield's congressional service after the war, he firmly supported the gold standard and gained a reputation as a skilled orator. He initially agreed with Radical Republican views on Reconstruction, but later favored a moderate approach to civil rights enforcement for freedmen. At the 1880 Republican National Convention, delegates chose Garfield, who had not sought the White House, as a compromise presidential nominee on the 36th ballot. In the 1880 presidential election, he conducted a low-key front porch campaign and narrowly defeated Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock. Garfield's accomplishments as president included a resurgence of presidential authority against senatorial courtesy in executive appointments, purging corruption in the Post Office, and appointing a Supreme Court justice. He enhanced the powers of the presidency when he defied the powerful New York senator Roscoe Conkling by appointing William H. Robertson to the lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York, starting a fracas that ended with Robertson's confirmation and Conkling's resignation from the Senate. Garfield advocated agricultural technology, an educated electorate, and civil rights for African Americans. He also proposed substantial civil service reforms, which were passed by Congress in 1883 and signed into law by his successor, Chester A. Arthur, as the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. On July 2, 1881, Charles J. Guiteau, a disappointed and delusional office seeker, shot Garfield at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington. The wound was not immediately fatal, but he died on September 19, 1881, from infections caused by his doctors. Guiteau was executed in June 1882.