James A. Garfield (1831–1881; served 1881) served one of the shortest
terms as president of the United States. After winning the election in
November 1880, he was shot the following July and died that
September. He had served six months and fifteen days.
Humble beginnings
Garfield was born on November 19, 1831, in a log cabin in Ohio.
Within two years, his father died. Although not interested in schooling
as a boy, Garfield’s mother and a local schoolteacher eventually convinced him that an education was the key to a successful future.
After studying at Geauga Academy in Chester, Ohio, Garfield enrolled in the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (now known as Hiram
College) in Hiram, Ohio. The nineteen-year-old proved himself a worthy student and capable athlete. The combination of serious demeanor and impressive
physique with his natural ability as an engaging
public speaker would serve him well throughout
his political life.
Garfield graduated in 1854 and entered
Williams College, where he was elected to several leadership positions within the student
body. He graduated with honors in 1856.
Of war and politics
Within a year, Garfield was elected president of
Western Reserve Eclectic Institute. Under his
leadership, the academy became the educational
center of the region. In addition to running the
school, he served as professor. In 1858, Garfield
married Lucretia Rudolph, a fellow student at
Geauga Academy.
Because of his popularity and proven administrative skills, the Republican Party of Ohio nominated Garfield
for state senate. He won the election easily in October 1859. He immediately earned himself a reputation as a gifted speaker and man of strong
opinions. Garfield was against slavery and supported the American Civil
War (1861–65) as the solution. He actively roused troops and was appointed colonel of the Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, whose
ranks were mostly filled with former students.
Although Garfield had no formal training or military experience, he
designed a campaign that drove Confederate forces out of Kentucky.
Impressed with his skill, the military promoted him to brigadier general.
As such, Garfield fought in one of the most fierce and historical battles
in military history, the Battle of Chickamauga. His achievements garnered him the Republican nomination to the U.S. House of
Representatives in 1862. He won that election and wound up serving
nine consecutive terms.
Bigger ideas
Garfield was elected to serve as a delegate to the Seventh National
Nominating Convention of the Republican Party in 1880. Although he never sought nomination to the presidency, he received it anyway—on
the thirty-sixth ballot. Prior to that, former president Ulysses S. Grant
(1822–1885; served 1869–77) and U.S. senator James Blaine
(1830–1893) of Maine battled it out without either receiving enough
votes to secure victory. Ultimately, Garfield was seen as the candidate
who could please everyone. His vice presidential running mate was New
York politician Chester A. Arthur (1829–1886).
Garfield beat his Democratic opponent, Civil War general Winfield
Scott Hancock (1824–1886), in the closest election of the nineteenth
century. His tenure as president, however, was short. On July 2, 1881,
Garfield was shot in a Washington, D.C., train station by Charles
Guiteau (c. 1840–1882), a mentally ill man who was angry over his unsuccessful attempts to gain a government position.
Garfield did not die immediately. He had been shot twice, and one
of the bullets remained in his body. American inventor Alexander
Graham Bell (1847–1922) devised a metal detector to try to locate the
bullet, but the metal bed frame upon which Garfield rested made the instrument malfunction. Eventually, infection set in and weakened his
heart. Garfield died on September 19, 1881.