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James A. Garfield

James A. Garfield. 20 th President of the United States of America Presidential Term: March 4, 1881 - September 19, 1881. Background/Family. Born in a log cabin in Orange, Cuyahoga County, Ohio on November 19, 1831.

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James A. Garfield

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  1. James A. Garfield • 20th President of the United States of America • Presidential Term: March 4, 1881 - September 19, 1881

  2. Background/Family • Born in a log cabin in Orange, Cuyahoga County, Ohio on November 19, 1831. • His father, Abram Garfield died & his mother, Eliza Ballou, had to raise their family by herself. • From 1851 - 1854, he attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute in Hiram, Ohio. He transferred to Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts & graduated in 1856. • On November 11, 1858, he married Lucretia Rudolph. They had seven children (five sons and two daughters)

  3. Political Rise to Presidency • With the start of the Civil War, Garfield enlisted in the Union Army, and was assigned to command the 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. • On October 1862, he was elected by the Republicans to the United States House of Representatives for Ohio's 19th Congressional District in the 38th Congress. • In 1876, when James G. Blaine moved from the House to the United States Senate, Garfield became the Republican floor leader of the House.

  4. PIRATES: Political • Garfield decided that the academic life was not for him and studied law privately. He was a Republican all his political life. • James Garfield had never separated from his Republican ideals. Unlike Lincoln, Grant, and Hayes, Garfield had not merely been opposed to slavery, but had been an abolitionist, believing that force in the Civil War was necessary not only to preserve the union, but to end slavery.

  5. PIRATES: Intellectual • The intellectual prowess of James Garfield is often overlooked as a result of his short tenure in office. • By the time he was fourteen, young Garfield was fairly knowledgeable in arithmetic and grammar and was particularly interested in the facts of American history, having eagerly gathered information from the meager treaties that circulated in that remote section of Ohio. In fact, he read and reread every book the scanty libraries of his part of the wilderness supplied, and many he learned by heart. The tales of the sea especially thrilled Garfield and a love for adventure took over him.

  6. PIRATES: Religious • He was a Disciple of Christ. In his early adulthood, Garfield sometimes preached and held revival meetings.

  7. PIRATES: Arts/Cultural • Garfield's assassination is mentioned in the Johnny Cash tune, "Mister Garfield (Has Been Shot Down)" • Garfield Monument in Washington, D.C. (picture) • The cartoon cat Garfield is named for artist Jim Davis' grandfather James A. Garfield Davis, who in turn was named for president Garfield. Garfield Monument

  8. PIRATES: Technology • James Garfield was the Ohio representative during the reconstruction of the Transcontinental Railroad.

  9. PIRATES: Economical • Scandal almost ruined Garfield's career when he was accused of accepting money in return for supporting a congressional funding of the transcontinental railroad's construction company. • He managed to survive the accusation by saying he had accepted a legal fee from a company involved in government-contracted improvement of Washington streets.

  10. PIRATES: Social • Garfield was born in a log cabin so he was not born into a high economic status but worked his way up the success ladder by going to Hiram College, & Williams College. He became senator of Ohio, General during the Civil War, and eventually president of the United States.

  11. Key Domestic Policy Issues: • The Spoils System, initially advocated by Andrew Jackson, was in full swing. • The Republican party experienced a mild split into the "stalwarts" and the "half breeds." The stalwarts believed in the spoils system, while the half breeds debated the morals in government. • During the 1880 convention, the Republicans nominated James A. Garfield, a half-breed, for president, and Chester A. Arthur, a stalwart, for vice-president to balance their ticket.

  12. Key Foreign Policy Issues: • James A. Garfield's foreign policy activities were limited to filling vacant diplomatic positions. Most notably was his appointments of writer James Russell Lowell as U.S. minister to England & Lew Wallace, a former Union general & popular writer, to the post in Turkey. • During Garfield's short term in office, Secretary of State Blaine was so involved with patronage matters that he had little time to deal with Latin American affairs, the Chinese immigration issue, or fishing disputes with the British in the Pacific. Russell Lowell Secretary of State Blaine

  13. Quote: • “By the experience of commercial nations in all ages it has been found that gold and silver afford the only safe foundation for a monetary system. Confusion has recently been created by variations in the relative value of the two metals, but I confidently believe that arrangements can be made between the leading commercial nations which will secure the general use of both metals.”

  14. Political Cartoon: This cartoon shows Garfield finding a baby at his front door with a tag marked "Civil Service Reform, compliments of R.B. Hayes". Hayes is in the background dressed like a woman & holding a bag marked "R.B. Hayes' Savings”

  15. Ohio Representative 20th President of the United States of America. Coming after the reverses at Big Bethel, Bull Run, and the disastrous failures in Missouri, General Garfield's triumph over the Confederate forces at Middle Creek had an encouraging effect on the entire north. - Successes/Failures: Battle of Bull Run

  16. “One Word” Forgotten     Garfield is often forgotten among the Presidents of the United States - surely a result of the fact that he served in this capacity for only six months - the second shortest ever served by a President.         His life prior to his short time in office, however, certainly deserves mention, as he showed himself to be both hard working and capable in all he did.

  17. Impact on Current Events: • Murdered within months of his inauguration, Garfield served as President too briefly for him to have left much of an impact. His reputation is remembered as a martyr above all else, as one who truly gave his life for his nation. • Also, because of his short presidency its difficult to determine wither he would have been successful at running for president today.

  18. Cabinet Members: • Vice President: Chester A. Arthur • Secretary of State: James G. Blaine • Secretary of Treasury: William Windom • Secretary of War: Robert Todd Lincoln • Attorney General: Wayne MacVeagh • Postmaster General: Thomas L. James • Secretary of the Navy: William H. Hunt • Secretary of the Interior: Samuel J. Kirkwood

  19. Post-Presidential Activities: • Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau on September 19, 1881. as he was walking through the Sixth Street Station of the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad. • Guiteau was upset because he was denied being appointed as the United States consul in Paris. • After Garfield died, his successor enacted the Pendleton Act, which dismantled the spoils system in favor of bureaucracy of merit. Charles J. Guiteau

  20. Bibliography: • http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesgarfield • http://www.usa-presidents.info/garfield.htm • http://www.google.com/search?q=james+garfield&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=1t5&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=rLtjS4ubEIv2sQP_ttWdAw&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=19&ved=0CD8Q5wIwEg • http://www.potus.com/jagarfield.html • http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=20

  21. Team Members: Magaly Orozco & Elizabeth Gonzalez AP US History period 1

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