Learn how U.S. President James A. Garfield thwarted the spoils system before he was assassinated
Learn how U.S. President James A. Garfield thwarted the spoils system before he was assassinated
An overview of James A. Garfield.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
James A. Garfield was elected the 20th president of the United States in 1880. He served only four months of his term before he was shot by an assassin.
James Abram Garfield was born on an Ohio farm in 1831. His father died before he was two, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise James and his siblings on her own. She stressed the importance of education, and when James was four, a log schoolhouse was built on the Garfields’ lot. As he grew up, James longed to leave the family farm and see the world. When he was 16, he ran away to become a sailor. He spent 3 months on a canal boat before becoming ill and returning home.
After he recovered, Eliza urged her son to return to school. He attended Western Reserve Eclectic Institute in Ohio and Williams College in Massachusetts, graduating in 1856. He returned to Eclectic as a professor and became president of the institute a year later. Soon he turned to politics, making speeches in support of the new Republican Party. In 1859 he was elected to the Ohio Senate.
When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Garfield joined the Union Army. He commanded an Ohio regiment and later rose to the rank of major general. While he was still at war, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. President Abraham Lincoln urged him to leave the army and take his seat. Garfield entered Congress in 1863, at the age of 32.
He served in the House until 1880, striving to become an expert on the country’s financial matters. He also served on the commission that declared Rutherford B. Hayes president following the contested election of 1876. He supported Hayes’s civil service reforms.
As the presidential election of 1880 neared, the Republican Party split into three main camps: the Stalwarts, who backed former president Ulysses S. Grant; the Half-Breeds, who favored Senator James G. Blaine; and the supporters of Treasury Secretary John Sherman. At the Republican convention, Garfield spoke on behalf of Sherman. But his speech was so well received that he became the focus of attention instead. Despite Garfield’s objections, his name was placed on the ballot, and in the 36th round of voting, he was selected as the Republican nominee.
In the presidential election, Garfield faced another Civil War veteran, General Winfield Scott Hancock. Garfield emphasized his humble beginnings and conducted the first “front porch” campaign, giving speeches at his Ohio home. Though the popular vote was very close, Garfield easily defeated Hancock in the electoral college.
Garfield took office in 1881. He continued Hayes’s disruption of the spoils system, refusing to grant offices based on political favors and rewards. After one of President Garfield’s appointments, the leader of the Stalwarts, Senator Roscoe Conkling, resigned in outrage. Garfield’s stance strengthened the independence and power of the U.S. presidency, but it ultimately cost him.
On July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot twice by a disillusioned man who he had rejected for political office. The assassin declared himself a Stalwart and announced, “Arthur is president now,” referring to Vice President Chester A. Arthur. Garfield languished for more than two months, as questions arose over whether Arthur should displace Garfield as president or merely serve as acting president until Garfield recovered. But before this issue could be decided, Garfield died of his wounds on September 19, 1881, only six months after taking office.
James Abram Garfield was born on an Ohio farm in 1831. His father died before he was two, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise James and his siblings on her own. She stressed the importance of education, and when James was four, a log schoolhouse was built on the Garfields’ lot. As he grew up, James longed to leave the family farm and see the world. When he was 16, he ran away to become a sailor. He spent 3 months on a canal boat before becoming ill and returning home.
After he recovered, Eliza urged her son to return to school. He attended Western Reserve Eclectic Institute in Ohio and Williams College in Massachusetts, graduating in 1856. He returned to Eclectic as a professor and became president of the institute a year later. Soon he turned to politics, making speeches in support of the new Republican Party. In 1859 he was elected to the Ohio Senate.
When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Garfield joined the Union Army. He commanded an Ohio regiment and later rose to the rank of major general. While he was still at war, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. President Abraham Lincoln urged him to leave the army and take his seat. Garfield entered Congress in 1863, at the age of 32.
He served in the House until 1880, striving to become an expert on the country’s financial matters. He also served on the commission that declared Rutherford B. Hayes president following the contested election of 1876. He supported Hayes’s civil service reforms.
As the presidential election of 1880 neared, the Republican Party split into three main camps: the Stalwarts, who backed former president Ulysses S. Grant; the Half-Breeds, who favored Senator James G. Blaine; and the supporters of Treasury Secretary John Sherman. At the Republican convention, Garfield spoke on behalf of Sherman. But his speech was so well received that he became the focus of attention instead. Despite Garfield’s objections, his name was placed on the ballot, and in the 36th round of voting, he was selected as the Republican nominee.
In the presidential election, Garfield faced another Civil War veteran, General Winfield Scott Hancock. Garfield emphasized his humble beginnings and conducted the first “front porch” campaign, giving speeches at his Ohio home. Though the popular vote was very close, Garfield easily defeated Hancock in the electoral college.
Garfield took office in 1881. He continued Hayes’s disruption of the spoils system, refusing to grant offices based on political favors and rewards. After one of President Garfield’s appointments, the leader of the Stalwarts, Senator Roscoe Conkling, resigned in outrage. Garfield’s stance strengthened the independence and power of the U.S. presidency, but it ultimately cost him.
On July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot twice by a disillusioned man who he had rejected for political office. The assassin declared himself a Stalwart and announced, “Arthur is president now,” referring to Vice President Chester A. Arthur. Garfield languished for more than two months, as questions arose over whether Arthur should displace Garfield as president or merely serve as acting president until Garfield recovered. But before this issue could be decided, Garfield died of his wounds on September 19, 1881, only six months after taking office.