A lesson in tenacity

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James A. Garfield was the 20^th president of the United States, from the date of his inauguration in March 1881 until his passing in September of that year, a result of being shot a little more than two months prior.

On July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot in the back as he walked with Secretary of State James Blaine in Washington’s Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station. Doctors were unable to remove the bullet, which was lodged in the president’s pancreas. He lingered on and died Sept. 19, 1881.

The assassin was Charles J. Guiteau, an emotionally disturbed individual who was furious with the president for not appointing him to a European consulship.

There has been discussion that the immediate cause of death was the failure of the medical team to properly care for Garfield by not using sterilized instruments and not washing hands when probing his wound.

In planning this violent act, Guiteau stalked Garfield for weeks. On the day Garfield died, Guiteau wrote to then-President Chester A. Arthur: “My inspiration is a godsend to you and I presume that you appreciate it. . . . Never think of Garfield’s removal as murder. It was an act of God, resulting from a political necessity for which he was responsible.”

At his trial, the jury deliberated one hour before returning a guilty verdict. Sentenced to be hanged, Guiteau was executed on June 30, 1882.

Garfield’s life is a lesson in tenacity. He was born in a log cabin into poverty on Nov. 19, 1831, in Cuyahoga, Ohio. As a young boy, he was a serious student and very religious. In 1849, he entered Geauga Seminary in Chester, Ohio, where he met his future wife, Lucretia Randolph.

Garfield worked as a carpenter and supported himself with a part-time teaching position at a district school. From 1851-1854, he studied at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute in Hiram, Ohio, and earned his living as a school janitor.

Then, in 1854, at the age of 23, Garfield enrolled as a junior at Williams College in Massachusetts. It was there he delivered his first political speech supporting John C. Fremont for the United States presidency in 1856. Fremont lost to James Buchanan.

At Williams, Garfield became a scholar, devoting much of his time to teaching the classics — Greek and Latin. Garfield graduated from Williams Phi Beta Kappa in 1856. He then returned to Ohio and was hired by the Eclectic Institute (later renamed Hiram College) as a professor of foreign languages, where he also delivered political speeches. Garfield served as president of the school from 1857-1863. He and Lucretia married on Nov. 11, 1858.

During the Civil War, Garfield recruited volunteers to form a company comprised of Western Reserve Eclectic Institute students. This group became the nucleus of the 4th Regiment of Ohio Volunteers. Garfield was appointed lieutenant. The regiment was formally organized at Camp Chase near Columbus, with Garfield leading the troops into battle.

On Jan. 9,1862, he was successful in the pursuit of enemy soldiers and drove them to flee. Notably, Garfield’s troops participated in the Battle of Shiloh, fought in April of 1862. As a result, Garfield was given a commission as Brigadier-General of Volunteers. He became the youngest general in the Union.

Garfield’s military career ended in 1862 when he ran for Congress and prevailed. During his term, he became an ally of Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase and those in the Congress who opposed slavery. Garfield supported emancipation and was considered a radical Republican due to his crusade to abolish slavery.

Garfield’s numerous speeches in Congress were brilliant and very well received. His only major campaign speech was delivered in Madison Square Park, to the cheers of more than 50,000 people in attendance:

“Gentlemen, ideas outlive men; ideas outlive all earthly things. You who fought in the war for the Union fought for immortal ideas, and by their might you crowned the war with victory. But victory was worth nothing except for the truths that were under it, in it, and above it. We meet tonight as comrades to stand guard around the sacred truths for which we fought. And while we have life to meet and grasp the hand of a comrade, we will stand by the great truths of the war.”

Garfield easily won the 1880 presidential election, beating out Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott. As president, Garfield advocated for agricultural technology, an educated electorate, and civil rights for African Americans. He also proposed substantial civil service reforms, which were passed by Congress in 1883 as the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act and signed into law by his successor, Chester A. Arthur.

(Sources: James Garfield: The Life and Legacy of the Second President to Be Assassinated; Speech: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garfield-campaign-speech/)

Paul Mark Sandler is recently retired from the firm of Shapiro Sher. He can be reached at [email protected].