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{{Infobox_President
|name=James Abram Garfield
|nationality=American
|image=James Abram Garfield, photo portrait seated.jpg
|order=20th [[President of the United States]]
|term_start=[[March 4]], [[1881]]
|term_end=[[September 31]], [[1881]]
|predecessor=[[Rutherford B. Hayes]]
|successor=[[Chester A. Arthur]]
|state2 = [[Ohio]]
|district2 = [[Ohio's 19th congressional district|19th]]
|term_start2 = [[March 4]], [[1863]]
|term_end2 = [[March 3]], [[1881]]
|predecessor2 = [[Albert G. Riddle]]
|successor2 = [[Ezra B. Taylor]]
|birth_date={{birth date|1831|11|19|mf=y}}
|birth_place=[[Moreland Hills, Ohio]]
|death_date={{death date and age|1881|09|19|1831|11|19}}
|death_place=[[Elberon, New Jersey|Elberon (Long Branch), New Jersey]]
|spouse=[[Lucretia Garfield|Lucretia Rudolph Garfield]]
|occupation=[[Lawyer]], [[Education|Educator]], [[Minister (Christianity)|Minister]]
|party=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|vicepresident=[[Chester A. Arthur]]
|religion=[[Disciples of Christ]]
|alma_mater =[[Williams College]]
|signature=James Garfield Signature.png
|}}
'''James Abram Garfield''' ([[November 19]], [[1831]]–[[September 19]], [[1881]]) was the twentieth [[President of the United States]]. He had also served as a major general in the [[United States Army]], and as a member of the [[U.S. House of Representatives]]. Garfield was the second U.S. President to be [[assassination|assassinated]] — [[Abraham Lincoln]] was the first. Garfield had the second shortest presidency in U.S. history, after [[William Henry Harrison]]'s. In office for six months and fifteen days, President Garfield, a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], served for less than four months before being shot and fatally wounded on [[July 2]], [[1881]]. He is the only member of the House of Representatives to have been in office when elected President.
==Early life==
[[Image:Garfield-at-16.jpg|thumb|left|Garfield at age 16]]
Garfield was born in [[Orange Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio|Orange Township]], now [[Moreland Hills, Ohio]] of [[Wales|Welsh]] ancestry. His father, Abram Garfield, died in 1833, when James Abram was 17 months old; he was brought up and cared for by his mother, Eliza Ballou, a brother, and an uncle.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/garfield/section1.html
|title = Section One: The Log Cabin
|accessdate = 2007-08-28
|work = James Garfield Study Guide
|publisher = [[SparkNotes]]
}}</ref>
In Orange Township, Garfield attended school, a predecessor of the [[Orange High School (Ohio)|Orange City Schools]]. From 1851 to 1854, he attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later named [[Hiram College]]) in [[Hiram, Ohio]]. He then transferred to [[Williams College]] in [[Williamstown, Massachusetts]], where he was a brother of [[Delta Upsilon]] fraternity. He graduated in 1856 as an outstanding student who enjoyed all subjects except [[chemistry]]. Garfield ruled out becoming a preacher and considered a job as principal of a high school in [[Poestenkill (town), New York|Poestenkill, New York]].<ref>{{cite book
| last = Peskin
| first = Allan
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Garfield
| publisher = [[Kent State University Press]]
| date = 1978
| location =
| pages = p. 45
| isbn = 0873382102
| url =
| doi =
| id = }}</ref> After losing that job to another applicant, he taught at the Eclectic Institute. Garfield was an instructor in [[classical languages]] for the 1856–1857 academic year, and was made principal of the Institute from 1857 to 1860.
[[Image:Garfield Homestead Ohio.jpg|thumb|The Garfield homestead.]]
On [[November 11]], [[1858]], he married [[Lucretia Garfield|Lucretia Rudolph]]. They had seven children (five sons and two daughters): Eliza Arbella Garfield (1860–63); [[Harry Augustus Garfield]] (1863–1942); [[James Rudolph Garfield]] (1865–1950); Mary Garfield (1867–1947); Irvin M. Garfield (1870–1951); Abram Garfield (1872–1958); and Edward Garfield (1874–76). One son, James R. Garfield, followed him into politics and became [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] under President [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. In the mid-1860s, Garfield had an affair with [[Lucia Calhoun]], which he later admitted to his wife, who forgave him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-9036074 |title=Garfield, James A. |accessdate=2008-03-04 |work=Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to American Presidents |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.}}</ref>
[[Image:MorelandHillsGarfieldCabin.jpg|thumb|left|Birthplace of James Garfield]]
Garfield decided that the academic life was not for him and studied law privately. He was admitted to the [[Ohio]] [[bar (law)|bar]] in 1860. Even before admission to the bar, he entered politics. He was elected an Ohio state senator in 1859, serving until 1861. He was a [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] all his political life.
==Military career==
{{Infobox Military Person
|name=James Abram Garfield
|lived=[[November 19]], [[1831]] - [[September 19]], [[1881]] (age 49)
|placeofbirth=[[Moreland Hills, Ohio]]
|placeofdeath=[[Long Branch, New Jersey]]
|image=[[Image:General James Garfield - Brady-Handy.jpg|200px]]
|caption=General James A. Garfield
|nickname=
|allegiance= [[United States|United States of America]]
|serviceyears=1861 - 1863
|rank=[[Major General]]
|commands=42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry<br/>20th Brigade, 6th Division, [[Army of the Ohio]]
|unit=
|battles=*[[American Civil War]]<br/>*[[Battle of Shiloh]]<br/>*[[Siege of Corinth]]<br/>*[[Battle of Chickamauga]]<br/>*[[Battle of Middle Creek]]
|awards=
|laterwork=[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] from [[Ohio]], 20th [[President of the United States]]
}}
With the start of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Garfield enlisted in the [[Union Army]], and was assigned to command the 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. General [[Don Carlos Buell]] assigned Colonel Garfield the task of driving [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] forces out of eastern [[Kentucky]] in November 1861, giving him the 18th Brigade for the campaign. In December, he departed [[Catlettsburg, Kentucky]], with the 40th and 42nd Ohio and the 14th and 22nd Kentucky infantry regiments, as well as the 2nd (West) Virginia Cavalry and McLoughlin's Squadron of Cavalry. The march was uneventful until Union forces reached [[Paintsville, Kentucky]], where Garfield's cavalry engaged the Confederate cavalry at Jenny's Creek on [[January 6]], [[1862]]. The Confederates, under [[brigadier general|Brig. Gen.]] [[Humphrey Marshall (general)|Humphrey Marshall]], withdrew to the forks of Middle Creek, two miles (3 km) from [[Prestonsburg, Kentucky]], on the road to [[Virginia]]. Garfield attacked on [[January 9]]. At the end of the day's fighting, the Confederates withdrew from the field, but Garfield did not pursue them. He ordered a withdrawal to [[Prestonsburg, Kentucky|Prestonsburg]] so he could resupply his men. His victory brought him early recognition and a promotion to the rank of brigadier general on [[January 11]].
Garfield served as a brigade commander under Buell at the [[Battle of Shiloh]] and under [[Thomas J. Wood]] in the subsequent [[Siege of Corinth]]. His health deteriorated and he was inactive until autumn, when he served on the [[Court-martial of Fitz John Porter|commission investigating the conduct]] of [[Fitz John Porter]]. In the spring of 1863, Garfield returned to the field as Chief of Staff for [[William S. Rosecrans]], commander of the [[Army of the Cumberland]].
==Later political career==
[[Image:Left Puck.jpg|thumb|left|An 1881 [[Puck (magazine)|Puck]] cartoon shows Garfield finding a baby at his front door with a tag marked "Civil Service Reform, compliments of [[Rutherford B. Hayes|R.B. Hayes]]". Hayes, his predecessor in the [[President of the United States|presidency]] is seen in the background dressed like a woman and holding a bag marked "R.B. Hayes' savings, [[Fremont, Ohio]]".]]
In 1863, he re-entered politics, being elected to the [[United States House of Representatives]] for the [[38th Congress]]. Garfield was promoted to [[major general]] after the [[Battle of Chickamauga]], shortly after he had been elected. He left the army and returned to Ohio to take his seat in Congress. He succeeded in gaining re-election every two years up through 1878. In the House during the Civil War and the following [[Reconstruction]] era, he was one of the most hawkish Republicans. In 1872, he was one of many congressman involved in the [[Crédit Mobilier of America scandal]]. Garfield denied the charges against him and it did not put too much of a strain on his political career since the actual impact of the scandal was difficult to determine. In 1876, when [[James Blaine|James G. Blaine]] moved from the House to the [[United States Senate]], Garfield became the Republican [[floor leader]] of the House.
In 1876, Garfield was a Republican member of the [[U.S. presidential election, 1876|Electoral Commission]] that awarded 22 hotly-contested electoral votes to [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] in his [[U.S. presidential election|contest]] for the Presidency against [[Samuel J. Tilden]]. That year, he also purchased the property in [[Mentor, Ohio|Mentor]] that reporters later dubbed [[James A. Garfield National Historic Site|Lawnfield]], and from which he would go on to conduct the first successful [[front porch campaign]] for the Presidency. The home is now maintained by the [[National Park Service]] as the [[James A. Garfield National Historic Site]].
==Election of 1880==
{{ main|1880 Republican National Convention}}
{{ main|United States presidential election, 1880}}
In 1880, Garfield's life underwent tremendous change with the publication of the [[Morey letter]], and the end of [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] U.S. Senator [[Allen G. Thurman|Allen Granberry Thurman's]] term. The Ohio [[legislature]], which had recently again come under Republican control, chose Garfield to fill Thurman's seat. However, at the [[Republican National Convention]] Garfield gained support for the party's Presidential nomination, and on the 36th ballot Garfield was nominated, with virtually all of Blaine's and [[John Sherman (politician)|John Sherman's]] delegates breaking ranks to vote for the [[dark horse]] nominee. As it happened, the U.S. Senate seat to which Garfield had been chosen ultimately went to Sherman, whose Presidential candidacy Garfield had gone to the convention to support.
In the general election, Garfield defeated the Democratic candidate [[Winfield Scott Hancock]], another distinguished former Union Army general, by 214 electoral votes to 155. (The popular vote had a plurality of 9,464 votes out of more than nine million cast; see [[U.S. presidential election, 1880]].) He became the only man ever to be elected to the Presidency straight from the House of Representatives. Garfield took office on [[March 4]], [[1881]].
==Presidency 1881==
===Administration and Cabinet===
[[Image:James Garfield portrait.jpg|thumb|right|Offical White House portrait of James Garfield]]
{{Infobox U.S. Cabinet
|align=left
|clear=yes
|Name=Garfield
|President=James A. Garfield
|President date=1881
|Vice President=[[Chester A. Arthur]]
|Vice President date=1881
|State=[[James G. Blaine]]
|State date=1881
|War=[[Robert Todd Lincoln]]
|War date=1881
|Treasury=[[William Windom]]
|Treasury date=1881
|Justice=[[Wayne MacVeagh]]
|Justice date=1881
|Post=[[Thomas L. James]]
|Post date=1881
|Navy=[[William H. Hunt]]
|Navy date=1881
|Interior=[[Samuel J. Kirkwood]]
|Interior date=1881
}}
Between his election and his inauguration, Garfield was occupied with constructing a cabinet that would balance all Republican factions. Blaine was rewarded with the State Department. William Windom of Minnesota was named secretary of the Treasury. The Navy Department was headed by William H. Hunt of Louisiana; the War Department by Robert Todd Lincoln; and the Interior Department by Iowa's Samuel J. Kirkwood. Wayne MacVeagh of Pennsylvania was asked to be Attorney General, and New York was represented by Postmaster General [[Thomas Lemuel James]]. This last appointment infuriated Garfield's [[Stalwart (politics)|Stalwart]] rival [[Roscoe Conkling]], who demanded nothing less for his faction and his state than the Treasury Department. He was so insulted that he, in effect, declared war on the administration.
This unedifying squabble would consume the energies of the brief Garfield presidency. It overshadowed promising activities such as Blaine's efforts to build closer ties with Latin America, Postmaster General James's investigation of the "[[Star routes|star route]]" postal frauds, and Windom's successful refinancing of the federal debt.
The feud with Conkling reached a climax when the President, at Blaine's instigation, nominated Conkling's enemy, Judge William H. Robertson, to be collector of the port of New York. Conkling raised the time-honored principle of senatorial courtesy in attempting to defeat the nomination but to no avail. Finally he and his junior colleague, [[Thomas C. Platt]], resigned their Senate seats to seek vindication, but they found only further humiliation. Garfield's victory was complete. He had routed his foes, weakened the principle of senatorial courtesy, and revitalized the presidential office.<ref>Garfield, James Abram. ''American National Biography'', 2000, American Council of Learned Societies.</ref>
President Garfield's only official social function made outside the White House was a visit to the Columbia Institution for the Deaf (later [[Gallaudet University]]) in May, 1881.<ref>Gallaudet, Edward Miner. ''History of the Columbia Institution for the Deaf.''</ref>
===Supreme Court appointments===
*[[Thomas Stanley Matthews]] – 1881
==Assassination==
{{ main|James A. Garfield assassination}}
[[Image:Garfield family.jpg|thumb|right|President Garfield and family]]
Garfield had little time to savor his triumph. He was shot by [[Charles J. Guiteau]], disgruntled by failed efforts to secure a federal post, on [[July 2]], [[1881]], at 9:30 a.m., less than four months after taking office. The President had been walking through the Sixth Street Station of the [[Baltimore and Potomac Railroad]] (a predecessor of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]) [[Washington, D.C.]], on his way to his [[alma mater]], [[Williams College]], where he was scheduled to deliver a speech, accompanied by [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[James G. Blaine]], [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[Robert Todd Lincoln]] (son of [[Abraham Lincoln]]<ref>[http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/inside.asp?ID=16&subjectID=2 Mr. Lincoln's Whitehouse: Robert Todd Lincoln], The Lincoln Institute, Retrieved [[November 29]], [[2006]].</ref>) and two of his sons, [[James Rudolph Garfield|James]] and [[Harry Augustus Garfield|Harry]]. The station was located on the southwest corner of present day Sixth Street Northwest and Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., a site that is now occupied by the [[National Gallery of Art]]. As he was being arrested after the shooting, Guiteau excitedly said, "I am a Stalwart of the [[Stalwart (politics)|Stalwarts]]! I did it and I want to be arrested! Arthur is President now," which briefly led to unfounded suspicions that Arthur or his supporters had put Guiteau up to the crime. (The Stalwarts strongly opposed Garfield's [[Half-Breed (politics)|Half-Breed]]s; like many Vice Presidents, Arthur was chosen for political advantage, to placate his faction, rather than for skills or loyalty to his running-mate.) Guiteau was upset because of the rejection of his repeated attempts to be appointed as the United States [[Consulate general|consul]] in [[Paris]]—a position for which he had absolutely no qualifications. Garfield's assassination was instrumental to the passage of the [[Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act]] on [[January 16]], [[1883]].
[[Image:Garfield assassination engraving cropped.jpg|thumb|left|President Garfield with [[James G. Blaine]] after being shot by [[Charles Guiteau]], as depicted in a period engraving from ''[[Frank Leslie]]'s Illustrated Newspaper''<ref>Cheney, Lynne Vincent. [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1975/6/1975_6_42.shtml "Mrs. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper"]. American Heritage Magazine. October 1975. Volume 26, Issue 6. ''URL retrieved on [[January 24]], [[2007]].''</ref><ref>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?presp:4:./temp/~ammem_d2P8:: "The attack on the President's life"]. Library of Congress. ''URL retrieved on [[January 24]], [[2007]].''</ref>]]
One bullet grazed Garfield's arm; the second bullet lodged in his spine and could not be found, although scientists today think that the bullet was near his lung. [[Alexander Graham Bell]] devised a [[metal detector]] specifically for the purpose of finding the bullet, but the metal bed frame Garfield was lying on made the instrument malfunction. Because metal bed frames were relatively rare, the cause of the instrument's deviation was unknown at the time. Garfield became increasingly ill over a period of several weeks due to infection, which caused his heart to weaken. He remained bedridden in the White House with fevers and extreme pains. In early September, the ailing President was moved to the [[Jersey Shore]] in the vain hope that the fresh air and quiet there might aid his recovery. He died of a massive [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] or a ruptured splenic artery [[aneurysm]], following [[blood poisoning]] and bronchial [[pneumonia]], at 10:35 p.m. on Monday, [[September 19]], [[1881]], in the [[Elberon, New Jersey|Elberon]] section of [[Long Branch, New Jersey]]. The wounded president died exactly two months before his 50th birthday. During the eighty days between his shooting and death, his only official act was to sign an [[extradition]] paper.
[[Image:Garfield's Doctors Consulting.jpg|thumb|200px|Doctors discuss Garfield's wounds.]]
Most historians and medical experts now believe that Garfield probably would have survived his wound had the doctors attending him been more capable.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/25/health/25garf.html A President Felled by an Assassin and 1880’s Medical Care] [[New York Times]], [[July 25]], [[2006]].</ref> Several inserted their [[sterile|unsterilized]] fingers into the wound to probe for the bullet, and one doctor punctured Garfield's [[liver]] in doing so. This alone would not have brought about death as the liver is one of the few organs in the human body that can regenerate itself. However, this physician probably introduced [[Streptococcus]] bacteria into the President's body and that caused [[blood poisoning]] for which at that time there were no antibiotics.
[[Image:Garfield-casket.jpg|thumb|right|President Garfield's casket [[lying in state]] at the [[United States Capitol rotunda|Capitol Rotunda]].]]
Guiteau was found guilty of assassinating Garfield, despite his lawyers raising an [[insanity defense]]. He insisted that incompetent medical care had really killed the President. Although historians generally agree that poor medical care was a contributing factor, it was not a legal defense. Guiteau was sentenced to death, and was executed by hanging on [[June 30]], [[1882]], in Washington, D.C.
[[Image:Garfieldmarker.jpg|thumb|left|President Garfield's Death Site, Long Branch, New Jersey.]]
Garfield was buried, with great and solemn ceremony, in a [[mausoleum]] in [[Lakeview Cemetery]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]]. The monument is decorated with five [[terra cotta]] [[bas relief]] panels by sculptor [[Caspar Buberl]], depicting various stages in Garfield's life. In 1887, the [[James A. Garfield Monument]] was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
At the time of his death, Garfield was survived by his mother. He is one of only three presidents to have predeceased their mothers. The others were [[James K. Polk]] and [[John F. Kennedy]].
==Trivia==
{{Trivia|date=July 2007}}
*Garfield and fellow Ohioan President Rutherford B. Hayes both served on the first board of trustees of Western Reserve University (now [[Case Western Reserve University]]) following the school's move from [[Hudson, Ohio]] to Cleveland.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
*Garfield was a minister and an elder for the [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)]], making him the first—and to date, only—member of the clergy to serve as President.<ref>[http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/president/gallery/detail.cfm?prez_ID=20 James A. Garfield]. Mr. President. Profiles of Our Nation's Leaders. Smithsonian Education. ''URL retrieved on [[May 11]] [[2007]].</ref> He is also claimed as a member of the [[Church of Christ]], as the different branches did not split until the 20th century. Garfield preached his first sermon in Poestenkill, New York.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Sullivan
| first = James
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Chapter VI. Rensselaer County
| work = The History of New York State, Book III
| publisher = Lewis Historical Publishing Company
| date = 1927
| url = http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/state/his/bk3/ch6.html
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate = 2007-06-06}}</ref> When Garfield relinquished his Eldership, it is said that he stated, "I resign the highest office in the land to become President of the United States."{{Fact|date=February 2007}}[[Image:GarfieldMonument.jpg|thumb|right|Garfield Monument at [[Lake View Cemetery (Cleveland)|Lake View Cemetery]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]].]]
*Garfield was a member of the [[Delta Upsilon]] International Fraternity.<ref>[http://www.deltau.org/default.aspx?action=Content&ContentId=1 Notable DUs]. Delta Upsilon Fraternity. Politics and Government. ''URL retrieved [[February 20]], [[2007]]''.</ref>
*Garfield is the only person in US history to be a Representative, Senator-elect, and [[President-elect]] at the same time. To date, he is the only Representative to be directly elected President of the United States.
*In 1876, Garfield discovered a [http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/GarfieldsProofOfPythagoreanTheorem.html novel proof] of the [[Pythagorean Theorem]] using a [[trapezoid]] while serving as a member of the House of Representatives.<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/mathline/concepts/president/activity2.shtm "Pythagoras and President Garfield"], PBS Teacher Source, ''URL retrieved on [[February 1]], [[2007]].''</ref>
*Garfield was the first [[ambidextrous]] president. It was said that one could ask him a question in English and he could simultaneously write the answer in [[Latin]] with one hand, and [[Ancient Greek]] with the other.<ref>[http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=20 American Presidents: Life Portraits], [[C-SPAN]], Retrieved [[November 29]], [[2006]]</ref>
*In the famous drawing of Guiteau shooting Garfield, it is believed that the color of their suits at the time was reversed. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
*The assassination is also mentioned in the [[Johnny Cash]] tune, "Mister Garfield (Has Been Shot Down)" according to the album sleeve written by J. Elliot, released in 1965 by Columbia Records, and re-recorded for the 1972 album ''America - A 200 Year Salute in Story And Song'', as well as in "[[Charles Guiteau (song)|Charles Guiteau]]" by [[Kelly Harrell]] & the Virginia String Band as included in the ''[[Anthology of American Folk Music]]''.
*In the 1992 film ''[[Unforgiven]]'', set in 1881, the character English Bob mocks his (American) fellow travelers for the murder of President Garfield, comparing the republican system of government unfavorably with the monarchical. "If you were to try to assassinate a king, sir, the, how shall I say it, the majesty of royalty would cause you to miss. But, a President, I mean, why not shoot a President?"
*Garfield was assassinated only months after [[Alexander II of Russia|Czar Alexander II]] of Russia was assassinated.
*[[Stephen Sondheim]]'s musical [[Assassins (musical)|Assassins]] includes the story of [[Charles J. Guiteau]] and his assassination of Garfield and features a song, "The Ballad of Guiteau."[[Image:Garfield Monument1.JPG|thumb|right|Garfield Monument in [[Washington, D.C.]]]]
*Part of Charles Guiteau's preserved brain is on display at the [[Mütter Museum]] at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.<ref>Siera, J.J. "[http://venue-magazine.com/aande/57/come-see-dead-people-at-the-mutter-museum.html Come see Dead People at the Mutter Museum]". Venue Magazine. [[Rowan University]]. Issue 41. Volume 2. ''URL retrieved [[February 19]], [[2007]]''.</ref> Guiteau's bones and more of his brain, along with Garfield's backbone and a couple ribs, are kept at the [[National Museum of Health and Medicine]] in Washington, D.C. on the grounds of the [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]].<ref>Carlson, Peter. "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/23/AR2006012301854_pf.html Rest in Pieces]". ''The Washington Post''. [[January 24]], [[2006]]. Page C1. ''URL retrieved [[February 19]], [[2007]]''.</ref>
*Garfield was a direct descendant of ''[[Mayflower]]'' passenger [[John Billington]] through his son Francis, another Mayflower passenger.<ref>"[http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Genealogy/famousdescendants.php Famous Descendants of ''Mayflower'' Passengers]". Mayflower History. ''URL retrieved [[31 March]] [[2007]]''.</ref> John Billington was convicted of murder at Plymouth Mass. 1630.<ref>Borowitz, Alfred. "[http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/lsf/29-2/mayflower.html The Mayflower Murderer]". The University of Texas at Austin. Tarlton Law Library. ''URL retrieved [[March 30]] [[2007]]''.</ref>
*Garfield juggled [[Indian clubs]] to build his muscles.<ref name=Paletta_1988>{{cite book | last = Paletta| first = Lu Ann | coauthors = Worth, Fred L | title = The World Almanac of Presidential Facts | publisher = World Almanac Books | year = 1988 | id = ISBN 0345348885}}</ref>
*James Garfield was featured on series 1882 $5 National Currency notes,{{Fact|date=May 2007}} and the series 1886 $20 Gold Certificate.<ref>Orzano, Michele. "[http://www.coinworld.com/news/111504/BW_1115.asp Learning the language]". [[Coin World]]. [[November 2]] [[2004]]. Retrieved [[May 9]] [[2007]].</ref> Both of these currency notes are considered to be of moderate rarity, and are quite valuable to collectors.
* Garfield has a street in [[Brooklyn, New Zealand|Brooklyn]] a suburb in [[Wellington]], [[New Zealand]] named after him - Garfield Street. {{Fact|date=June 2007}}
* Garfield was related to [[Owen Tudor]], and both were descendents of [[Rhys ap Tewdwr]].<ref>[http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/g/a/r/J-H-Garner/FILE/0141page.html#subj10000000 Genealogy Report: Ancestors of Pres. James Abram Garfield</ref>{{Verify source|date=August 2007}}
* The [[Spaghetti Western]] ''[[The Price of Power]]'' (1969) features [[Van Johnson]] as Garfield, and his assassination figures prominently in the film's plot; however, the setting of the assassination is relocated to Dallas, and the killing itself is clearly modeled after the [[Kennedy Assassination]] of 1963.
* The US has had three presidents in the same year two times. The first such year was 1841. Martin Van Buren ended his single term, William Henry Harrison was inaugurated and died a month later, then Vice President John Tyler stepped into the vacant office. The second occurrence was in 1881. Rutherford B. Hayes relinquished the office to James A. Garfield. Upon Garfield's death, Chester A. Arthur became president.
==See also==
*[[List of assassinated American politicians]]
*[[List of United States Presidents who died in office]]
==Further reading==
*Ackerman, Kenneth D. ''Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of James A. Garfield'', Avalon Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0-7867-1396-8 (paperback) and ISBN 0-7867-1151-5 (cloth).
*Freemon, Frank R., 2001: Gangrene and glory: medical care during the American Civil War; Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252070100
*King, Lester Snow: 1991 Transformations in American Medicine : from Benjamin Rush to William Osler / Lester S. King. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, c1991. ISBN 0801840570
*Peskin, Allan ''Garfield: A Biography'', The Kent State University Press, 1978. ISBN 0-8733-8210-2.
*Vowell, Sarah "Assassination Vacation", Simon & Schuster, 2005 ISBN 0-7432-6004-X
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{wikisource author}}
{{wikiquote|James A. Garfield}}
{{Commons}}
{{CongBio|G000063}} Retrieved on [[2008-02-12]]
*[http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/index.php/academic/americanpresident/garfield Extensive essay on James Garfield and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs]
*[http://www.lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner84.html Garfield, Harding, and Arthur]
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jg20.html Official whitehouse.gov biography]
*[http://www.usa-presidents.info/inaugural/garfield.html Inaugural Address]
*[http://home.nycap.rr.com/useless/garfield/index.html Article about assassination and "treatment" by doctors]
*[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566237/James_Garfield.html Encarta]
*[http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/49/president-james-a-garfiel An image of Garfield's Civil War Pension File from the National Archives]
*[http://www.blastbooks.com/RAWDEAL/Garfield/fr2gar.htm Raw Deal]
*[http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PythagoreanTheorem.html MathWorld: Pythagorean Theorem]
*[http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/jtbrown/coc/COC1306.HTM Biography from John T. Brown's ''Churches of Christ'' (1904)]
*[http://www.nps.gov/jaga/index.htm James A Garfield National Historic Site]
*[http://www.morelandhills.com/historical.html James A. Garfield Birthplace]
*[http://www.deadohio.com/garfieldmonument.htm Garfield Monument]
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Albert G. Riddle]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member from [[Ohio's 19th congressional district]]|years=March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1881}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ezra B. Taylor]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Rutherford B. Hayes]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[President of the United States]]|years=March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Chester A. Arthur]]}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Rutherford B. Hayes]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States Republican Party presidential tickets|Republican Party presidential candidate]]|years=[[U.S. presidential election, 1880|1880]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[James G. Blaine]]}}
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Henry Wilson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Persons who have [[Lying in state|lain in state or honor]]<br/>in the [[United States Capitol rotunda]]|years=September 21, 1881 – September 23, 1881}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John A. Logan]]}}
{{end}}
{{USpresidents
| before=[[Rutherford B. Hayes|Hayes]]
| after=[[Chester A. Arthur|Arthur]]
| years=1881}}
{{Garfield cabinet}}
{{USRepPresNominees}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME = Garfield, James Abram
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
|SHORT DESCRIPTION = 20th [[President of the United States]]
|DATE OF BIRTH = [[November 19]], [[1831]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Moreland Hills, Ohio]], [[United States]]
|DATE OF DEATH = [[November 19]], [[1931]]
|PLACE OF DEATH = [[Long Branch, New Jersey|Elberon (Long Branch), New Jersey]], [[United States]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garfield, James A.}}
[[Category:James Garfield]]
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Republican Party (United States) presidential nominees]]
[[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1880]]
[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio]]
[[Category:United States Army generals]]
[[Category:Union Army generals]]
[[Category:Ohio lawyers]]
[[Category:People of Ohio in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:People from Mentor, Ohio]]
[[Category:History of the United States (1865–1918)]]
[[Category:Williams College alumni]]
[[Category:Assassinated American politicians]]
[[Category:Assassinated United States Presidents]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in the United States]]
[[Category:Americans of Welsh descent]]
[[Category:Americans with Huguenot ancestry]]
[[Category:Hiram College alumni]]
[[Category:Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) clergy]]
[[Category:American Disciples of Christ]]
[[Category:1831 births]]
[[Category:1881 deaths]]
[[Category:Ohio Republicans]]
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|name=James Abram Garfield
|nationality=American
|image=James Abram Garfield, photo portrait seated.jpg
|order=20th [[President of the United States]]
|term_start=[[March 4]], [[1881]]
|term_end=[[September 31]], [[1881]]
|predecessor=[[Rutherford B. Hayes]]
|successor=[[Chester A. Arthur]]
|state2 = [[Ohio]]
|district2 = [[Ohio's 19th congressional district|19th]]
|term_start2 = [[March 4]], [[1863]]
|term_end2 = [[March 3]], [[1881]]
|predecessor2 = [[Albert G. Riddle]]
|successor2 = [[Ezra B. Taylor]]
|birth_date={{birth date|1831|11|19|mf=y}}
|birth_place=[[Moreland Hills, Ohio]]
|death_date={{death date and age|1881|09|19|1831|11|19}}
|death_place=[[Elberon, New Jersey|Elberon (Long Branch), New Jersey]]
|spouse=[[Lucretia Garfield|Lucretia Rudolph Garfield]]
|occupation=[[Lawyer]], [[Education|Educator]], [[Minister (Christianity)|Minister]]
|party=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|vicepresident=[[Chester A. Arthur]]
|religion=[[Disciples of Christ]]
|alma_mater =[[Williams College]]
|signature=James Garfield Signature.png
|}}
'''James Abram Garfield''' ([[November 19]], [[1831]]–[[September 19]], [[1881]]) was the twentieth [[President of the United States]]. He had also served as a major general in the [[United States Army]], and as a member of the [[U.S. House of Representatives]]. Garfield was the second U.S. President to be [[assassination|assassinated]] — [[Abraham Lincoln]] was the first. Garfield had the second shortest presidency in U.S. history, after [[William Henry Harrison]]'s. In office for six months and fifteen days, President Garfield, a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], served for less than four months before being shot and fatally wounded on [[July 2]], [[1881]]. He is the only member of the House of Representatives to have been in office when elected President.
==Early life==
[[Image:Garfield-at-16.jpg|thumb|left|Garfield at age 16]]
Garfield was born in [[Orange Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio|Orange Township]], now [[Moreland Hills, Ohio]] of [[Wales|Welsh]] ancestry. His father, Abram Garfield, died in 1833, when James Abram was 17 months old; he was brought up and cared for by his mother, Eliza Ballou, a brother, and an uncle.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/garfield/section1.html
|title = Section One: The Log Cabin
|accessdate = 2007-08-28
|work = James Garfield Study Guide
|publisher = [[SparkNotes]]
}}</ref>
In Orange Township, Garfield attended school, a predecessor of the [[Orange High School (Ohio)|Orange City Schools]]. From 1851 to 1854, he attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later named [[Hiram College]]) in [[Hiram, Ohio]]. He then transferred to [[Williams College]] in [[Williamstown, Massachusetts]], where he was a brother of [[Delta Upsilon]] fraternity. He graduated in 1856 as an outstanding student who enjoyed all subjects except [[chemistry]]. Garfield ruled out becoming a preacher and considered a job as principal of a high school in [[Poestenkill (town), New York|Poestenkill, New York]].<ref>{{cite book
| last = Peskin
| first = Allan
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Garfield
| publisher = [[Kent State University Press]]
| date = 1978
| location =
| pages = p. 45
| isbn = 0873382102
| url =
| doi =
| id = }}</ref> After losing that job to another applicant, he taught at the Eclectic Institute. Garfield was an instructor in [[classical languages]] for the 1856–1857 academic year, and was made principal of the Institute from 1857 to 1860.
[[Image:Garfield Homestead Ohio.jpg|thumb|The Garfield homestead.]]
On [[November 11]], [[1858]], he married [[Lucretia Garfield|Lucretia Rudolph]]. They had seven children (five sons and two daughters): Eliza Arbella Garfield (1860–63); [[Harry Augustus Garfield]] (1863–1942); [[James Rudolph Garfield]] (1865–1950); Mary Garfield (1867–1947); Irvin M. Garfield (1870–1951); Abram Garfield (1872–1958); and Edward Garfield (1874–76). One son, James R. Garfield, followed him into politics and became [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] under President [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. In the mid-1860s, Garfield had an affair with [[Lucia Calhoun]], which he later admitted to his wife, who forgave him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-9036074 |title=Garfield, James A. |accessdate=2008-03-04 |work=Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to American Presidents |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.}}</ref>
[[Image:MorelandHillsGarfieldCabin.jpg|thumb|left|Birthplace of James Garfield]]
Garfield decided that the academic life was not for him and studied law privately. He was admitted to the [[Ohio]] [[bar (law)|bar]] in 1860. Even before admission to the bar, he entered politics. He was elected an Ohio state senator in 1859, serving until 1861. He was a [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] all his political life.
==Military career==
{{Infobox Military Person
|name=James Abram Garfield
|lived=[[November 19]], [[1831]] - [[September 19]], [[1881]] (age 49)
|placeofbirth=[[Moreland Hills, Ohio]]
|placeofdeath=[[Long Branch, New Jersey]]
|image=[[Image:General James Garfield - Brady-Handy.jpg|200px]]
|caption=General James A. Garfield
|nickname=
|allegiance= [[United States|United States of America]]
|serviceyears=1861 - 1863
|rank=[[Major General]]
|commands=42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry<br/>20th Brigade, 6th Division, [[Army of the Ohio]]
|unit=
|battles=*[[American Civil War]]<br/>*[[Battle of Shiloh]]<br/>*[[Siege of Corinth]]<br/>*[[Battle of Chickamauga]]<br/>*[[Battle of Middle Creek]]
|awards=
|laterwork=[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] from [[Ohio]], 20th [[President of the United States]]
}}
With the start of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Garfield enlisted in the [[Union Army]], and was assigned to command the 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. General [[Don Carlos Buell]] assigned Colonel Garfield the task of driving [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] forces out of eastern [[Kentucky]] in November 1861, giving him the 18th Brigade for the campaign. In December, he departed [[Catlettsburg, Kentucky]], with the 40th and 42nd Ohio and the 14th and 22nd Kentucky infantry regiments, as well as the 2nd (West) Virginia Cavalry and McLoughlin's Squadron of Cavalry. The march was uneventful until Union forces reached [[Paintsville, Kentucky]], where Garfield's cavalry engaged the Confederate cavalry at Jenny's Creek on [[January 6]], [[1862]]. The Confederates, under [[brigadier general|Brig. Gen.]] [[Humphrey Marshall (general)|Humphrey Marshall]], withdrew to the forks of Middle Creek, two miles (3 km) from [[Prestonsburg, Kentucky]], on the road to [[Virginia]]. Garfield attacked on [[January 9]]. At the end of the day's fighting, the Confederates withdrew from the field, but Garfield did not pursue them. He ordered a withdrawal to [[Prestonsburg, Kentucky|Prestonsburg]] so he could resupply his men. His victory brought him early recognition and a promotion to the rank of brigadier general on [[January 11]].
Garfield served as a brigade commander under Buell at the [[Battle of Shiloh]] and under [[Thomas J. Wood]] in the subsequent [[Siege of Corinth]]. His health deteriorated and he was inactive until autumn, when he served on the [[Court-martial of Fitz John Porter|commission investigating the conduct]] of [[Fitz John Porter]]. In the spring of 1863, Garfield returned to the field as Chief of Staff for [[William S. Rosecrans]], commander of the [[Army of the Cumberland]].
==Later political career==
[[Image:Left Puck.jpg|thumb|left|An 1881 [[Puck (magazine)|Puck]] cartoon shows Garfield finding a baby at his front door with a tag marked "Civil Service Reform, compliments of [[Rutherford B. Hayes|R.B. Hayes]]". Hayes, his predecessor in the [[President of the United States|presidency]] is seen in the background dressed like a woman and holding a bag marked "R.B. Hayes' savings, [[Fremont, Ohio]]".]]
In 1863, he re-entered politics, being elected to the [[United States House of Representatives]] for the [[38th Congress]]. Garfield was promoted to [[major general]] after the [[Battle of Chickamauga]], shortly after he had been elected. He left the army and returned to Ohio to take his seat in Congress. He succeeded in gaining re-election every two years up through 1878. In the House during the Civil War and the following [[Reconstruction]] era, he was one of the most hawkish Republicans. In 1872, he was one of many congressman involved in the [[Crédit Mobilier of America scandal]]. Garfield denied the charges against him and it did not put too much of a strain on his political career since the actual impact of the scandal was difficult to determine. In 1876, when [[James Blaine|James G. Blaine]] moved from the House to the [[United States Senate]], Garfield became the Republican [[floor leader]] of the House.
In 1876, Garfield was a Republican member of the [[U.S. presidential election, 1876|Electoral Commission]] that awarded 22 hotly-contested electoral votes to [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] in his [[U.S. presidential election|contest]] for the Presidency against [[Samuel J. Tilden]]. That year, he also purchased the property in [[Mentor, Ohio|Mentor]] that reporters later dubbed [[James A. Garfield National Historic Site|Lawnfield]], and from which he would go on to conduct the first successful [[front porch campaign]] for the Presidency. The home is now maintained by the [[National Park Service]] as the [[James A. Garfield National Historic Site]].
==Election of 1880==
{{ main|1880 Republican National Convention}}
{{ main|United States presidential election, 1880}}
In 1880, Garfield's life underwent tremendous change with the publication of the [[Morey letter]], and the end of [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] U.S. Senator [[Allen G. Thurman|Allen Granberry Thurman's]] term. The Ohio [[legislature]], which had recently again come under Republican control, chose Garfield to fill Thurman's seat. However, at the [[Republican National Convention]] Garfield gained support for the party's Presidential nomination, and on the 36th ballot Garfield was nominated, with virtually all of Blaine's and [[John Sherman (politician)|John Sherman's]] delegates breaking ranks to vote for the [[dark horse]] nominee. As it happened, the U.S. Senate seat to which Garfield had been chosen ultimately went to Sherman, whose Presidential candidacy Garfield had gone to the convention to support.
In the general election, Garfield defeated the Democratic candidate [[Winfield Scott Hancock]], another distinguished former Union Army general, by 214 electoral votes to 155. (The popular vote had a plurality of 9,464 votes out of more than nine million cast; see [[U.S. presidential election, 1880]].) He became the only man ever to be elected to the Presidency straight from the House of Representatives. Garfield took office on [[March 4]], [[1881]].
==Presidency 1881==
===Administration and Cabinet===
[[Image:James Garfield portrait.jpg|thumb|right|Offical White House portrait of James Garfield]]
{{Infobox U.S. Cabinet
|align=left
|clear=yes
|Name=Garfield
|President=James A. Garfield
|President date=1881
|Vice President=[[Chester A. Arthur]]
|Vice President date=1881
|State=[[James G. Blaine]]
|State date=1881
|War=[[Robert Todd Lincoln]]
|War date=1881
|Treasury=[[William Windom]]
|Treasury date=1881
|Justice=[[Wayne MacVeagh]]
|Justice date=1881
|Post=[[Thomas L. James]]
|Post date=1881
|Navy=[[William H. Hunt]]
|Navy date=1881
|Interior=[[Samuel J. Kirkwood]]
|Interior date=1881
}}
Between his election and his inauguration, Garfield was occupied with constructing a cabinet that would balance all Republican factions. Blaine was rewarded with the State Department. William Windom of Minnesota was named secretary of the Treasury. The Navy Department was headed by William H. Hunt of Louisiana; the War Department by Robert Todd Lincoln; and the Interior Department by Iowa's Samuel J. Kirkwood. Wayne MacVeagh of Pennsylvania was asked to be Attorney General, and New York was represented by Postmaster General [[Thomas Lemuel James]]. This last appointment infuriated Garfield's [[Stalwart (politics)|Stalwart]] rival [[Roscoe Conkling]], who demanded nothing less for his faction and his state than the Treasury Department. He was so insulted that he, in effect, declared war on the administration.
This unedifying squabble would consume the energies of the brief Garfield presidency. It overshadowed promising activities such as Blaine's efforts to build closer ties with Latin America, Postmaster General James's investigation of the "[[Star routes|star route]]" postal frauds, and Windom's successful refinancing of the federal debt.
The feud with Conkling reached a climax when the President, at Blaine's instigation, nominated Conkling's enemy, Judge William H. Robertson, to be collector of the port of New York. Conkling raised the time-honored principle of senatorial courtesy in attempting to defeat the nomination but to no avail. Finally he and his junior colleague, [[Thomas C. Platt]], resigned their Senate seats to seek vindication, but they found only further humiliation. Garfield's victory was complete. He had routed his foes, weakened the principle of senatorial courtesy, and revitalized the presidential office.<ref>Garfield, James Abram. ''American National Biography'', 2000, American Council of Learned Societies.</ref>
President Garfield's only official social function made outside the White House was a visit to the Columbia Institution for the Deaf (later [[Gallaudet University]]) in May, 1881.<ref>Gallaudet, Edward Miner. ''History of the Columbia Institution for the Deaf.''</ref>
===Supreme Court appointments===
*[[Thomas Stanley Matthews]] – 1881
==Assassination==
{{ main|James A. Garfield assassination}}
[[Image:Garfield family.jpg|thumb|right|President Garfield and family]]
Garfield had little time to savor his triumph. He was shot by [[Charles J. Guiteau]], disgruntled by failed efforts to secure a federal post, on [[July 2]], [[1881]], at 9:30 a.m., less than four months after taking office. The President had been walking through the Sixth Street Station of the [[Baltimore and Potomac Railroad]] (a predecessor of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]) [[Washington, D.C.]], on his way to his [[alma mater]], [[Williams College]], where he was scheduled to deliver a speech, accompanied by [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[James G. Blaine]], [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[Robert Todd Lincoln]] (son of [[Abraham Lincoln]]<ref>[http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/inside.asp?ID=16&subjectID=2 Mr. Lincoln's Whitehouse: Robert Todd Lincoln], The Lincoln Institute, Retrieved [[November 29]], [[2006]].</ref>) and two of his sons, [[James Rudolph Garfield|James]] and [[Harry Augustus Garfield|Harry]]. The station was located on the southwest corner of present day Sixth Street Northwest and Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., a site that is now occupied by the [[National Gallery of Art]]. As he was being arrested after the shooting, Guiteau excitedly said, "I am a Stalwart of the [[Stalwart (politics)|Stalwarts]]! I did it and I want to be arrested! Arthur is President now," which briefly led to unfounded suspicions that Arthur or his supporters had put Guiteau up to the crime. (The Stalwarts strongly opposed Garfield's [[Half-Breed (politics)|Half-Breed]]s; like many Vice Presidents, Arthur was chosen for political advantage, to placate his faction, rather than for skills or loyalty to his running-mate.) Guiteau was upset because of the rejection of his repeated attempts to be appointed as the United States [[Consulate general|consul]] in [[Paris]]—a position for which he had absolutely no qualifications. Garfield's assassination was instrumental to the passage of the [[Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act]] on [[January 16]], [[1883]].
[[Image:Garfield assassination engraving cropped.jpg|thumb|left|President Garfield with [[James G. Blaine]] after being shot by [[Charles Guiteau]], as depicted in a period engraving from ''[[Frank Leslie]]'s Illustrated Newspaper''<ref>Cheney, Lynne Vincent. [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1975/6/1975_6_42.shtml "Mrs. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper"]. American Heritage Magazine. October 1975. Volume 26, Issue 6. ''URL retrieved on [[January 24]], [[2007]].''</ref><ref>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?presp:4:./temp/~ammem_d2P8:: "The attack on the President's life"]. Library of Congress. ''URL retrieved on [[January 24]], [[2007]].''</ref>]]
One bullet grazed Garfield's arm; the second bullet lodged in his spine and could not be found, although scientists today think that the bullet was near his lung. [[Alexander Graham Bell]] devised a [[metal detector]] specifically for the purpose of finding the bullet, but the metal bed frame Garfield was lying on made the instrument malfunction. Because metal bed frames were relatively rare, the cause of the instrument's deviation was unknown at the time. Garfield became increasingly ill over a period of several weeks due to infection, which caused his heart to weaken. He remained bedridden in the White House with fevers and extreme pains. In early September, the ailing President was moved to the [[Jersey Shore]] in the vain hope that the fresh air and quiet there might aid his recovery. He died of a massive [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] or a ruptured splenic artery [[aneurysm]], following [[blood poisoning]] and bronchial [[pneumonia]], at 10:35 p.m. on Monday, [[September 19]], [[1881]], in the [[Elberon, New Jersey|Elberon]] section of [[Long Branch, New Jersey]]. The wounded president died exactly two months before his 50th birthday. During the eighty days between his shooting and death, his only official act was to sign an [[extradition]] paper.
[[Image:Garfield's Doctors Consulting.jpg|thumb|200px|Doctors discuss Garfield's wounds.]]
Most historians and medical experts now believe that Garfield probably would have survived his wound had the doctors attending him been more capable.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/25/health/25garf.html A President Felled by an Assassin and 1880’s Medical Care] [[New York Times]], [[July 25]], [[2006]].</ref> Several inserted their [[sterile|unsterilized]] fingers into the wound to probe for the bullet, and one doctor punctured Garfield's [[liver]] in doing so. This alone would not have brought about death as the liver is one of the few organs in the human body that can regenerate itself. However, this physician probably introduced [[Streptococcus]] bacteria into the President's body and that caused [[blood poisoning]] for which at that time there were no antibiotics.
[[Image:Garfield-casket.jpg|thumb|right|President Garfield's casket [[lying in state]] at the [[United States Capitol rotunda|Capitol Rotunda]].]]
Guiteau was found guilty of assassinating Garfield, despite his lawyers raising an [[insanity defense]]. He insisted that incompetent medical care had really killed the President. Although historians generally agree that poor medical care was a contributing factor, it was not a legal defense. Guiteau was sentenced to death, and was executed by hanging on [[June 30]], [[1882]], in Washington, D.C.
[[Image:Garfieldmarker.jpg|thumb|left|President Garfield's Death Site, Long Branch, New Jersey.]]
Garfield was buried, with great and solemn ceremony, in a [[mausoleum]] in [[Lakeview Cemetery]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]]. The monument is decorated with five [[terra cotta]] [[bas relief]] panels by sculptor [[Caspar Buberl]], depicting various stages in Garfield's life. In 1887, the [[James A. Garfield Monument]] was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
At the time of his death, Garfield was survived by his mother. He is one of only three presidents to have predeceased their mothers. The others were [[James K. Polk]] and [[John F. Kennedy]].
==Trivia==
{{Trivia|date=July 2007}}
*Garfield and fellow Ohioan President Rutherford B. Hayes both served on the first board of trustees of Western Reserve University (now [[Case Western Reserve University]]) following the school's move from [[Hudson, Ohio]] to Cleveland.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
*Garfield was a minister and an elder for the [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)]], making him the first—and to date, only—member of the clergy to serve as President.<ref>[http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/president/gallery/detail.cfm?prez_ID=20 James A. Garfield]. Mr. President. Profiles of Our Nation's Leaders. Smithsonian Education. ''URL retrieved on [[May 11]] [[2007]].</ref> He is also claimed as a member of the [[Church of Christ]], as the different branches did not split until the 20th century. Garfield preached his first sermon in Poestenkill, New York.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Sullivan
| first = James
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Chapter VI. Rensselaer County
| work = The History of New York State, Book III
| publisher = Lewis Historical Publishing Company
| date = 1927
| url = http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/state/his/bk3/ch6.html
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate = 2007-06-06}}</ref> When Garfield relinquished his Eldership, it is said that he stated, "I resign the highest office in the land to become President of the United States."{{Fact|date=February 2007}}[[Image:GarfieldMonument.jpg|thumb|right|Garfield Monument at [[Lake View Cemetery (Cleveland)|Lake View Cemetery]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]].]]
*Garfield was a member of the [[Delta Upsilon]] International Fraternity.<ref>[http://www.deltau.org/default.aspx?action=Content&ContentId=1 Notable DUs]. Delta Upsilon Fraternity. Politics and Government. ''URL retrieved [[February 20]], [[2007]]''.</ref>
*Garfield is the only person in US history to be a Representative, Senator-elect, and [[President-elect]] at the same time. To date, he is the only Representative to be directly elected President of the United States.
*In 1876, Garfield discovered a [http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/GarfieldsProofOfPythagoreanTheorem.html novel proof] of the [[Pythagorean Theorem]] using a [[trapezoid]] while serving as a member of the House of Representatives.<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/mathline/concepts/president/activity2.shtm "Pythagoras and President Garfield"], PBS Teacher Source, ''URL retrieved on [[February 1]], [[2007]].''</ref>
*Garfield was the first [[ambidextrous]] president. It was said that one could ask him a question in English and he could simultaneously write the answer in [[Latin]] with one hand, and [[Ancient Greek]] with the other.<ref>[http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=20 American Presidents: Life Portraits], [[C-SPAN]], Retrieved [[November 29]], [[2006]]</ref>
*In the famous drawing of Guiteau shooting Garfield, it is believed that the color of their suits at the time was reversed. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
*The assassination is also mentioned in the [[Johnny Cash]] tune, "Mister Garfield (Has Been Shot Down)" according to the album sleeve written by J. Elliot, released in 1965 by Columbia Records, and re-recorded for the 1972 album ''America - A 200 Year Salute in Story And Song'', as well as in "[[Charles Guiteau (song)|Charles Guiteau]]" by [[Kelly Harrell]] & the Virginia String Band as included in the ''[[Anthology of American Folk Music]]''.
*In the 1992 film ''[[Unforgiven]]'', set in 1881, the character English Bob mocks his (American) fellow travelers for the murder of President Garfield, comparing the republican system of government unfavorably with the monarchical. "If you were to try to assassinate a king, sir, the, how shall I say it, the majesty of royalty would cause you to miss. But, a President, I mean, why not shoot a President?"
*Garfield was assassinated only months after [[Alexander II of Russia|Czar Alexander II]] of Russia was assassinated.
*[[Stephen Sondheim]]'s musical [[Assassins (musical)|Assassins]] includes the story of [[Charles J. Guiteau]] and his assassination of Garfield and features a song, "The Ballad of Guiteau."[[Image:Garfield Monument1.JPG|thumb|right|Garfield Monument in [[Washington, D.C.]]]]
*Part of Charles Guiteau's preserved brain is on display at the [[Mütter Museum]] at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.<ref>Siera, J.J. "[http://venue-magazine.com/aande/57/come-see-dead-people-at-the-mutter-museum.html Come see Dead People at the Mutter Museum]". Venue Magazine. [[Rowan University]]. Issue 41. Volume 2. ''URL retrieved [[February 19]], [[2007]]''.</ref> Guiteau's bones and more of his brain, along with Garfield's backbone and a couple ribs, are kept at the [[National Museum of Health and Medicine]] in Washington, D.C. on the grounds of the [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]].<ref>Carlson, Peter. "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/23/AR2006012301854_pf.html Rest in Pieces]". ''The Washington Post''. [[January 24]], [[2006]]. Page C1. ''URL retrieved [[February 19]], [[2007]]''.</ref>
*Garfield was a direct descendant of ''[[Mayflower]]'' passenger [[John Billington]] through his son Francis, another Mayflower passenger.<ref>"[http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Genealogy/famousdescendants.php Famous Descendants of ''Mayflower'' Passengers]". Mayflower History. ''URL retrieved [[31 March]] [[2007]]''.</ref> John Billington was convicted of murder at Plymouth Mass. 1630.<ref>Borowitz, Alfred. "[http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/lsf/29-2/mayflower.html The Mayflower Murderer]". The University of Texas at Austin. Tarlton Law Library. ''URL retrieved [[March 30]] [[2007]]''.</ref>
*Garfield juggled [[Indian clubs]] to build his muscles.<ref name=Paletta_1988>{{cite book | last = Paletta| first = Lu Ann | coauthors = Worth, Fred L | title = The World Almanac of Presidential Facts | publisher = World Almanac Books | year = 1988 | id = ISBN 0345348885}}</ref>
*James Garfield was featured on series 1882 $5 National Currency notes,{{Fact|date=May 2007}} and the series 1886 $20 Gold Certificate.<ref>Orzano, Michele. "[http://www.coinworld.com/news/111504/BW_1115.asp Learning the language]". [[Coin World]]. [[November 2]] [[2004]]. Retrieved [[May 9]] [[2007]].</ref> Both of these currency notes are considered to be of moderate rarity, and are quite valuable to collectors.
* Garfield has a street in [[Brooklyn, New Zealand|Brooklyn]] a suburb in [[Wellington]], [[New Zealand]] named after him - Garfield Street. {{Fact|date=June 2007}}
* Garfield was related to [[Owen Tudor]], and both were descendents of [[Rhys ap Tewdwr]].<ref>[http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/g/a/r/J-H-Garner/FILE/0141page.html#subj10000000 Genealogy Report: Ancestors of Pres. James Abram Garfield</ref>{{Verify source|date=August 2007}}
* The [[Spaghetti Western]] ''[[The Price of Power]]'' (1969) features [[Van Johnson]] as Garfield, and his assassination figures prominently in the film's plot; however, the setting of the assassination is relocated to Dallas, and the killing itself is clearly modeled after the [[Kennedy Assassination]] of 1963.
* The US has had three presidents in the same year two times. The first such year was 1841. Martin Van Buren ended his single term, William Henry Harrison was inaugurated and died a month later, then Vice President John Tyler stepped into the vacant office. The second occurrence was in 1881. Rutherford B. Hayes relinquished the office to James A. Garfield. Upon Garfield's death, Chester A. Arthur became president.
==See also==
*[[List of assassinated American politicians]]
*[[List of United States Presidents who died in office]]
==Further reading==
*Ackerman, Kenneth D. ''Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of James A. Garfield'', Avalon Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0-7867-1396-8 (paperback) and ISBN 0-7867-1151-5 (cloth).
*Freemon, Frank R., 2001: Gangrene and glory: medical care during the American Civil War; Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252070100
*King, Lester Snow: 1991 Transformations in American Medicine : from Benjamin Rush to William Osler / Lester S. King. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, c1991. ISBN 0801840570
*Peskin, Allan ''Garfield: A Biography'', The Kent State University Press, 1978. ISBN 0-8733-8210-2.
*Vowell, Sarah "Assassination Vacation", Simon & Schuster, 2005 ISBN 0-7432-6004-X
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{wikisource author}}
{{wikiquote|James A. Garfield}}
{{Commons}}
{{CongBio|G000063}} Retrieved on [[2008-02-12]]
*[http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/index.php/academic/americanpresident/garfield Extensive essay on James Garfield and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs]
*[http://www.lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner84.html Garfield, Harding, and Arthur]
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jg20.html Official whitehouse.gov biography]
*[http://www.usa-presidents.info/inaugural/garfield.html Inaugural Address]
*[http://home.nycap.rr.com/useless/garfield/index.html Article about assassination and "treatment" by doctors]
*[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566237/James_Garfield.html Encarta]
*[http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/49/president-james-a-garfiel An image of Garfield's Civil War Pension File from the National Archives]
*[http://www.blastbooks.com/RAWDEAL/Garfield/fr2gar.htm Raw Deal]
*[http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PythagoreanTheorem.html MathWorld: Pythagorean Theorem]
*[http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/jtbrown/coc/COC1306.HTM Biography from John T. Brown's ''Churches of Christ'' (1904)]
*[http://www.nps.gov/jaga/index.htm James A Garfield National Historic Site]
*[http://www.morelandhills.com/historical.html James A. Garfield Birthplace]
*[http://www.deadohio.com/garfieldmonument.htm Garfield Monument]
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{{Persondata
|NAME = Garfield, James Abram
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
|SHORT DESCRIPTION = 20th [[President of the United States]]
|DATE OF BIRTH = [[November 19]], [[1831]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Moreland Hills, Ohio]], [[United States]]
|DATE OF DEATH = [[November 19]], [[1931]]
|PLACE OF DEATH = [[Long Branch, New Jersey|Elberon (Long Branch), New Jersey]], [[United States]]
}}
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[[Category:James Garfield]]
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Republican Party (United States) presidential nominees]]
[[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1880]]
[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio]]
[[Category:United States Army generals]]
[[Category:Union Army generals]]
[[Category:Ohio lawyers]]
[[Category:People of Ohio in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:People from Mentor, Ohio]]
[[Category:History of the United States (1865–1918)]]
[[Category:Williams College alumni]]
[[Category:Assassinated American politicians]]
[[Category:Assassinated United States Presidents]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in the United States]]
[[Category:Americans of Welsh descent]]
[[Category:Americans with Huguenot ancestry]]
[[Category:Hiram College alumni]]
[[Category:Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) clergy]]
[[Category:American Disciples of Christ]]
[[Category:1831 births]]
[[Category:1881 deaths]]
[[Category:Ohio Republicans]]
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