James A. Garfield Biography
- Home /
- James A. Garfield /
- Biography

- Born Nov. 19, 1831
James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death by assassination six and a half months later. He was the first sitting member of Congress to be elected to the presidency, and remains the only sitting House member to gain the White House.\n', '
Garfield entered politics as a Republican in 1857. He served as a member of the Ohio State Senate from 1859 to 1861. Garfield opposed Confederate secession, served as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and fought in the battles of Middle Creek, Shiloh, and Chickamauga. He was first elected to Congress in 1862 to represent Ohio\'s 19th District. Throughout Garfield\'s extended congressional service after the Civil War, he firmly supported the gold standard and gained a reputation as a skilled orator. Garfield initially agreed with Radical Republican views regarding Reconstruction, but later favored a moderate approach for civil rights enforcement for freedmen.\n', '
At the 1880 Republican National Convention, Senator-elect Garfield attended as campaign manager for Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman, and gave the presidential nomination speech for him. When neither Sherman nor his rivals – Ulysses S. Grant and James G. Blaine – could get enough votes to secure the nomination, delegates chose Garfield as a compromise on the 36th ballot. In the 1880 presidential election, Garfield conducted a low-key front porch campaign and narrowly defeated Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock.\n', '
Return to James A. Garfield Autograph Profile
Stats
Join the RACC Facebook Group!
The Real Autograph Collectors Club (RACC) on Facebook is the largest community of in person autograph collectors and fans in the world, with 25,000 members and growing!
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Useful Links
WORLDWIDE RACC (Our Top Cities)
New York, NY
USA
Los Angeles, CA
USA
London
United Kingdom
Chicago, IL
USA
Toronto, ON
Canada