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Garfield's first glimpse into the world
James A. Garfield was born in Orange, Ohio to Abram and Eliza Ballou Garfield. -
The last of his kind
James A. Garfield was the last president to live in a log cabin. -
Loss at a young age
When James Garfield was two years old, his father passed away, leaving his mother, Eliza Ballou Garfield, to work hard for her family. -
Astonishing early education
Garfield learned to read when he was a mere three years old! -
James A. Garfield's political party
Garfield was a republican, and was against the Stalwarts, a type of republican group. In fact, because Garfield challenged them, Guiteau, became angry and later assassinated him. -
A religious conversion
When Garfield was eighteen, he was baptized into the Disciples of Christ after having a conversion. He is said to be one of the most religious presidents we've had. -
James A. Garfield attended three colleges
James A. Garfield attended a local district school when he was young, and later he enrolled in the Eclectic Institute, William's College, and Geauga Academy (seminary). -
Love for languages
James A. Garfield had a passion for language and literature. He went to college to learn Latin, Greek, and literature which he enjoyed very much. -
What did James A. Garfield do for a living before presidency
He was a tugboat pilot, canal boat worker, traveling preacher, teacher, Hiram college's president, carpenter, and an attorney. -
Preacher President
His full name was James Abram Garfield, but he is most known as James A. Garfield. Some people nicknamed him "Preacher President" because he was so good at public speaking. He had also earlier been a traveling preacher and was part of the Disciples of Christ. -
President in two ways
Before Garfield was elected as the United States president, he was elected as president of Hiram College after being a professor there. -
Garfield's Marriage
James A. Garfield married Lucretia Rudolph. -
How many kids?
James A. Garfield had seven children, but only five of them lived to adulthood. -
An unusual talent
Garfield could write in Latin with one hand while writing in Greek with the other! -
Garfield helped bring slaves their rights
Garfield was a colonel in the infantry in the Civil War. Some of his soldiers were the students he used to teach. They trusted him, and followed him gladly. -
Did Garfield have an other political positions?
Garfield was the minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, on Ohio's state senate, chaired several committees, on the electoral commission, and was a campaign manager. -
A president who cared about education
Garfield didn't really develop any laws or programs because he wasn't president for very long. He did, however, propose and set up a “Bureau of Education” before he was president. He wanted to monitor how well the states were educating U.S. citizens in the census. -
Star Route Scandal
The post office officials and stagecoach operators schemed to steal money such as taxes that were being delivered by the post office. The criminals were put on trial. It was called the Star Route case. Senator Conkling threatened to make a letter that connected Garfield to the scheme public, and later did. After publishing the hubble letter, though, he ended up hurting himself more than Garfield. -
Go Jackrabbits!
South Dakota State University was founded in 1881, the same year Garfield was president. -
Garfield's presidency begins
Garfield was inaugurated to office in Washington D. C. -
An interesting election
Three candidates were competing for presidential nomination: Ulysses S. Grant, James G. Blaine, and John Sherman who Garfield was campaigning for. Sherman, who was nominated by Garfield gave a great speech and received much applause. When the vote happened, they voted thirty-five times with no winner. Then Sherman and Blaine decided not to run and to give the chance to Garfield. He won the nomination. In the presidential election, Garfield won by ten thousand votes. -
Lucretia's illness
Garfield's wife, Lucretia, grew ill with malaria and exhaustion just after Garfield gained office. She was moved to New Jersey, and thankfully recovered. -
Six month presidency
Garfield was shot at a train station by Charles J. Guiteau. Earlier, Guiteau had given a speech that helped Garfield to office, but he didn't think he had been given a high enough ranking position afterward. He felt bitter and disagreed with Garfield to the extent that he assassinated him. Guiteau's gun was a .44 British Bulldog, and he bought it because he thought it would look good later in a museum. -
A move toward more civil rights
The Normal School for Colored Teachers was established in Tuskegee, Alabama while Garfield was president. Dr. Booker T. Washington was the school’s first president. After the civil war, colored people wanted to have a school to learn how to be teachers. Lewis Adams, a former slave, wanted to have a college for African American teachers. Then, the Alabama legislature passed a law that allowed the college to open. -
A criminal's death
in Fort Summer, New Mexico, Billy the Kid went to his friend’s house to find a snack. Sheriff Pat Garrett was at his house interrogating his friend, but he didn’t know it and was shot. -
A bullet hidden inside Garfield's Pancreas
After being shot, Garfield tried hard to recover. Alexander Graham Bell, a famous inventor at the time, made a special metal detector to try to find a bullet that was hidden inside him somewhere so they could remove it. He was lying on a bed with metal springs when they tried to use it, though, and the springs interfered with it. He was moved to New Jersey to be with his family. About ten weeks after being shot, Garfield died because of blood poisoning and the bullet hidden inside his pancreas. -
Garfield's vice president
Chester A. Arthur was Garfield's vice president and gained office after Garfield died. -
Garfield's burial site
After his death, James A. Garfield was buried at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. -
Eliza Ballou's death
Eliza Ballou, James Garfield's mother, passed away in Mentor, Ohio, and was buried in Solon, Ohio. -
Lucretia's death
Lucretia Rudolph passed away thirty-seven years after her husband.