(November 19, 1831–September 19, 1881), was the 20th President of the United States, 1881–81; assassinated after serving only four months, being the fourth President to die in office; elected U.S. Senator, 1880, but declined to serve as he was nominated to run for President; U.S. Representative, 1863–80, taking the position at the request of Abraham Lincoln; House Minority Leader, 1876; Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, 1871; Republican Chairman; Major General in the Union Army, 1863, fighting the Confederate forces at Chickamauga; Brigadier General, commanding brigade at Shiloh, 1862; promoted to Colonel, 1861, defeating Confederate forces at Middle Creek, Kentucky, 1862; Lieutenant Colonel in Ohio Volunteers, 1861; Ohio State Senator, 1859–61; admitted to bar, 1860; married Lucretia Rudolph, 1858; successfully debated Englishman John Denton, refuting his evolutionary arguments, 1858, then launched a lecture tour speaking on “Geology and Religion”; President of Hiram College, 1857–61, chosen at the age of 26; graduated from Williams College, 1856; and teacher at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, 1852. In addition to being strongly anti-slavery, James A. Garfield was a member of the Disciples of Christ, and occasionally preached a sermon for them.
On March 4, 1850, James A. Garfield wrote in his journal of his conversion at the age of eighteen:
Today I was buried with Christ in baptism and arose to walk in newness of life.2673
Shortly after his conversion, young Garfield became a teacher. In his diary he recorded a description of the school:
Our little schoolhouse was filled to overflowing. The cause of God is prospering. In this place, 17 have made the good confession and are rejoicing in the hope of eternal life. Thanks be to God for his goodness. By the help of God I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath.2674
While a student at Williams College, James Garfield, along with other students, climbed one of the high peaks seven miles distant, on “Mountain Day.” The surrounding scenery was enough to awaken religious awe. Just then young Garfield broke the silence:
Boys, it is a habit of mine to read a chapter in the Bible every evening with my absent mother. Shall I read aloud?
The little company assented; and, drawing from his pocket a well-worn Testament, he read in soft, rich tones the chapter which his mother in Ohio was reading at the same time, and then he called on a classmate, who was with him on the mountain top, to pray.2675
James Abram Garfield planned to become a sailor, but illness forced him to change his plans. He explained:
Two years ago I was taken with the ague in Cleveland. When I consider the sequel of my history thus far, I can see the providence of God in a striking manner. Two years ago I had become ripe for ruin. On the canal … ready to drink in every species of vice, and with the ultimate design of going on the ocean …
I was taken sick; unable to labor, went to school two terms thus cultivating my moral and intellectual facilities, took a school in the winter, and greatest of all, obeyed the gospel. Thus by the providence of God I am what I am and not a sailor. I thank Him.2676
On Saturday, April 15, 1865, the day after President Lincoln was shot, Representative James Garfield spoke from a balcony of the Exchange Building on New York’s Wall Street to an angry mob, turning them aside from their intentions to seek vengence on the neighboring headquarters of the Democratic New York World:
Fellow citizens! Clouds and darkness are around Him. His pavilion is dark waters and thick clouds of the skies! Justice and judgment are the establishment of His throne! Mercy and truth shall go before His face. Fellow citizens! God reigns and the Government at Washington still lives!2677
In 1871, James A. Garfield described the Chancellor of the newly united German Empire, Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck (1815–1898):
I am struck with the fact that Bismarck, the great statesman of Germany, probably the foremost man in Europe today, stated as an unquestioned principle, that the support, the defense, and propagation of the Christian Gospel is the central object of the German government.2678
On Tuesday, July 4, 1876, as the U.S. Representative chairing the Committee on Appropriations, James Abram Garfield delivered a speech commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence:
Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. …
If the next centennial does not find us a great nation … it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.2679
In 1876, James A. Garfield concluded a letter to a friend, showing his submission to the death of his little son, Edward:
In the hope of the Gospel, which is so precious in this hour of affliction, I am affectionately your brother in Christ.2680
In 1880, James A. Garfield was elected U.S. Senator from Ohio, but before he could take office he was nominated for President in a truly unusual turn of circumstances. He was asked to give the nomination speech for John Sherman at the opening of the Republican Convention in 1880, but his speech received such a standing ovation, that the convention decided to nominate him instead of John Sherman. He went on to be elected the 20th President of the United States.
On Friday, March 4, 1881, in his Inaugural Address, President James Abram Garfield stated:
Before continuing the onward march let us pause on this height for a moment to strengthen our faith and renew our hope. …
The emancipated race has already made remarkable progress. With unquestioning devotion to the Union, with a patience and gentleness not born of fear, they have “followed the light as God gave them to see the light.” …
Let our people find a new meaning in the divine oracle which declares that “a little child shall lead them,” for our own little children will soon control the destinies of the Republic. My countrymen, we do not now differ in our judgement concerning the controversies of past generations, and fifty years hence our children will not be divided in their opinions concerning our controversies. They will surely bless their fathers and their fathers’ God that the Union was preserved, that slavery was overthrown, and that both races were made equal before the law. …
Above all, upon our efforts to promote the welfare of this great people and their Government I reverently invoke the support and blessings of Almighty God.2681
President James A. Garfield wrote:
The world’s history is a Divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains have been pealing along down the centuries, and though there have been mingled the discords of warring cannons and dying men, yet to the Christian philosopher and historian—the humble listener—there has been a Divine melody running through the song which speaks of hope and halcyon days to come.2682
On Saturday, July 2, 1881, after having been in office only 4 months, President Garfield was shot in the back while in the Washington, D.C., railroad station. He died a few months later on September 19, 1881. On September 20, 1881, from Long Branch, N.J., Secretary of State James G. Blaine sent an announcement to James Russell Lowell, U.S. Minister in London:
James A. Garfield, President of the United States, died at Elberon, N.J., last night at ten minutes before 11 o’clock. For nearly eighty days he suffered great pain, and during the entire period exhibited extraordinary patience, fortitude, and Christian resignation. Fifty millions of people stand as mourners by his bier.2683
On February 27, 1882, Secretary of State James G. Blaine delivered a eulogy on President Garfield:
With unfailing tenderness he took leave of life. Above the demoniac hiss of the assassin’s bullet he heard the voice of God. With simple resignation he bowed to the Divine decree.2684