{"id":18115,"date":"2024-07-04T12:00:06","date_gmt":"2024-07-04T16:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=18115"},"modified":"2024-09-03T19:42:34","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T23:42:34","slug":"20-garfield-james-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=18115","title":{"rendered":"#20. Garfield, James Abram"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas<\/em> \u2013 James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 \u2013 September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, from March 4, 1881, until his death by assassination six and a half months later. Two words come to mind when I read the story of James\u2019 life: What If?<\/em> What if his presidency had lasted more than six months? He had high ideals \u2013 what impact might he have made on our country? What if x-ray had already been invented when he was shot? His wound wouldn\u2019t even be considered serious today, and he wouldn\u2019t have suffered the infection caused by endless probing with unsterilized fingers, and instruments. James Garfield overcame the poverty he was born into. He studied so hard and learned so much he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He built a strong enough marriage with Lucretia Rudolph that they had seven children together, and she was there at his bedside during those last awful months.<\/p>\n

Would I invite this man to my party? Probably not. A pallor of sadness hung over James Garfield. Things just didn\u2019t seem to work out for him \u2013 and this was a guy who spoke Latin and Greek and had the mathematical talent to develop a trapezoid proof of the Pythagorean theorem! He once wrote “I lament that I was born to poverty, and in this chaos of childhood, seventeen years passed before I caught any inspiration … a precious 17 years when a boy with a father and some wealth might have become fixed in manly ways<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Well It Was<\/em> Lousy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, James was born in a log cabin. He was the youngest of five children, and yes, his father Abram died shortly after he was born. Leaving his mother Eliza in a bad spot \u2013 so she remarried quickly, only to leave her second husband just as quickly (one could suspect he was not a kindly person). Divorce was scandalous in those days, and times were tough for the family. Eliza loved to tell James stories of their ancestors \u2013 especially the Welch side of the family, and the \u201cknight of Caerffili Castle.\u201d Outside of the house, James was bullied by the other kids; he escaped by reading every book he could find. At the age of 16 he left home.<\/p>\n

He first found work on a canal boat, managing the mules. That was short-lived; he became ill and returned home where Eliza finally persuaded him to go to school. In 1848 his life began to shift \u2013 he enrolled at Geauga Seminary, where he became especially interested in languages and elocution, and wrote \u201cI love agitation and investigation and glory in defending unpopular truth over popular error.<\/em>\u201d Of course he worked during his school years \u2013 he was a carpenter\u2019s assistant, a janitor, and most frequently, a teacher. Lucretia Rudolph was a fellow \"\"<\/a>student at Hiram College \u2013 James wooed her while teaching her Greek. And he had a religious awakening, got baptized in the Chagrin River, and attended many camp meetings. He also developed a regular preaching circuit. As he completed all a school had to offer, he moved on to the next until finally enrolling at Williams College in Massachusetts, where, as I mentioned, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. A pretty darned good student.<\/p>\n

He returned to Ohio as a \u201cman of distinction\u201d teaching at Hiram; in 1857 was made its president, and began to get involved in politics. He married Lucretia in 1858 (he was 27, she was 26), began to read law, and was admitted to the bar in 1861 at the age of 30.<\/p>\n

Government Positions<\/strong><\/p>\n