James A. Garfield

James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th President of the United States (1881), and the second U.S. President to be assassinated. His term was the second shortest in U.S. history, after William Henry Harrison's. Holding office from March to September of 1881, President Garfield was in office for a total of just six months and fifteen days.

Later political career

In 1863, he re-entered politics, being elected to the United States House of Representatives that year. He succeeded in gaining re-election every two years up through 1878. In the House during the Civil War and the following Reconstruction era, he was one of the most hawkish Republicans, seeking to defeat and later weaken the South at every opportunity. In 1876, when James G. Blaine moved from the House to the United States Senate, Garfield became the Republican Floor Leader of the House.

Related Topics:
1863 - United States House of Representatives - 1878 - Reconstruction - 1876 - James G. Blaine - United States Senate - Floor Leader

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In 1876 Garfield was a Republican member of the Electoral Commission that awarded 22 hotly-contested electoral votes to Rutherford B. Hayes in his contest for the Presidency against Samuel J. Tilden. That year, he also purchased the property in Mentor that reporters later dubbed Lawnfield, and from which he would go on to conduct the first successful front porch campaign for the Presidency. The home is now maintained by the National Park Service as the James A. Garfield National Historic Site.

Related Topics:
1876 - Electoral Commission - Rutherford B. Hayes - Contest - Samuel J. Tilden - Mentor - Front porch campaign - National Park Service - James A. Garfield National Historic Site

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