The Reluctant President Who Made History
By Cam Rodgers, Bucyrus High School Freshman
James Abram Garfield was the 20th President of the United States and another leader born in Ohio. He was born on November 19, 1831, in a log cabin on rural farmland in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in what is now Moreland Hills. His parents were Abram and Eliza Ballou Garfield, but Garfield never knew his father, who died at just 33 years old when James was only 18 months old. His father had been known for his strength and wrestling skills, and Garfield grew up with a strong-willed mother who raised him in poverty, working hard to help on the family farm. Like his father, Garfield was tough, loved the outdoors, and was known to be a good fighter.
Early Life and Education
Garfield didn’t want to be a farmer like everyone else — his dream was to become a sailor. At 16 years old, he ran away from home to work on canal boats traveling between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. However, after falling overboard 14 times and eventually developing a high fever, he was forced to return home.
Determined to get an education, Garfield attended a village high school before enrolling at Geauga Academy in Chester, Ohio, where tuition was $17 — his mother’s entire life savings. While studying, he worked as a carpenter and a teacher to support himself. From 1851 to 1854, he attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later known as Hiram College), where he worked as a school janitor to support himself.
Garfield was also quite popular — he once dated three women at the same time! Eventually, he fell in love with Lucretia “Crete” Rudolph, one of his classmates.
In 1854, at age 23, Garfield transferred to Williams College in Massachusetts as a junior. He graduated with honors in 1856 and returned to the Eclectic Institute as a teacher of English, history, geology, and math.
Marriage and Military Service
On November 11, 1858, Garfield married Lucretia “Crete” Rudolph. Together, they had seven children: Harry, James, Mary, Irvin, Abram, Eliza Arabella, and Edward — though two of them died in infancy.
Garfield studied law on his own and passed the Ohio bar exam in 1861. However, the Civil War broke out, and he quickly shifted focus. By August 1861, Garfield organized the 42nd Ohio Infantry and became a war hero, earning the rank of Brigadier General. In December 1863, he resigned from the Army to take his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he had been elected without even campaigning!
Garfield would go on to serve in the House for nine terms.
The Presidency and Tragic Assassination
On November 2, 1880, Garfield was elected President of the United States in one of the highest voter turnout elections in U.S. history. He was inaugurated on March 4, 1881.
Though his presidency was short, Garfield strongly supported civil service reform, which aimed to end the corrupt system of political appointments. Though he did not live to see it happen, Congress passed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883, ensuring that most federal government jobs were awarded based on merit rather than political connections.
On July 2, 1881, just 200 days into his presidency, Charles Guiteau shot Garfield in the back at the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C.. Guiteau was furious that Garfield had not given him a diplomatic job in Europe, believing that he was owed the position for helping Garfield win the election.
Despite being severely wounded, Garfield survived the initial shooting. However, surgeons were unable to locate the bullet lodged in his pancreas, and he developed sepsis and other serious complications. After suffering for 80 days, he died on September 19, 1881.
Garfield’s Legacy and Burial
Garfield was buried at the James A. Garfield Memorial in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. His wife, Former First Lady Lucretia Garfield, is also buried there, along with their daughter Mary Stanley-Brown and her husband, Joseph Stanley Brown.
The Garfield Memorial is architecturally unique, combining Byzantine, Gothic, and Romanesque Revival styles. The structure is multi-leveled, and visitors can even go to the roof for a view of downtown Cleveland.
However, if you’re planning to visit, don’t expect to play Pokémon Go!
