Who was James Abram Garfield?

Answer 1

President: James Abram Garfield (1831 - 1881)

Term: March 4, 1881 - September 19, 1881

Background: Garfield was born in Orange Township, now known as Moreland Hills, Ohio in a log cabin. He was born from Welsh ancestry and his parents were Abram Garfield and Eliza Ballou. His father died when Garfield was at the age of 17 months. He attended college at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, and later transferred to Williams College in Williamstown graduating in the year 1856. He then later taught classical languages at the Eclectic Institute. He went on to study law privately, and was admitted to the bar in 1860. He had strong Republican views. With the Civil War occurring, Garfield enlisted into the Union Army, later becoming a Major General. From March 4, 1863 to March 3, 1881, he was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 19th district and later becoming president.

Political Party: Republican

Vice-President: Chester A. Arthur

Major Domestic Policy: Garfield did not receive much time in office from being assassinated 100 days after his Inaugural Address. He was assassinated at the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Passenger Terminal in Washington, DC. He did spend much time on the collectorship of the Port of New York. What Garfield worked towards was gaining respect for the United States Government. His assassination was known to have been caused due to his party affiliation of Half-Breed and Stalwart fraction.

Major Foreign Policy: From being assassinated, Garfield did not have much time to partake in any foreign issues. Before his death, he was going to aid in the fishing in the Pacific with British and the Chinese Immigration issue, but his life was cut short, not giving him enough time to complete such tasks.

Court Case: none

Intellectual and Social Developments: none

Garfield's Legacy: Charles J. Guiteau shot Garfield at the Washington D.C. train station on July 2, 1881. Since Garfield was murdered within months of his inauguration address, he was not able to make much of an impact. He strongly supported the use of hard money, and a laissez-faire economy. This caused people to think whether he could of dealt with the recession that began in 1881. He was also the first President to be a clergy. He was a very smart man, and was able to write Greek with one hand, while at the same time writing Latin, and also created on of the 370 proof for the Pythagorean theorem. He supported education for all, including the African Americans. Overall, He was known as a martyr who gave his life for his country.