History UsefulNotes / JamesGarfield

James Garfield was president in [[TheGildedAge 1881]], right after UsefulNotes/RutherfordBHayes and before UsefulNotes/ChesterAArthur. His father died before Garfield's second birthday, and Garfield grew up in poverty.

He [[GunsAkimbo could write Greek with one hand and Latin with the other at the same time]]. Garfield was also the first President to ever talk on the phone - the man on the other end was Alexander Graham Bell, no less! Bell would later invent one of the first known metal detectors in an effort to locate the bullet lodged in Garfield's body, only for the detector to be rendered useless when Garfield's doctors refused to allow him to be moved from the metal-framed bed where he was resting. He also derived an new original proof of the Pythagorean Theorem while serving in Congress.

While Garfield's presidency was too short, in and of itself, to make a serious impact on American history, Garfield himself was both popular and well-respected in his day as an extremely honest and well-meaning politician. He had a consistently progressive record on economic and racial issues, and was a leading proponent of civil service reform. Some recent historians have suggested Garfield would have made a great president had he lived - arguments which can only be conjectural.

He [[GunsAkimbo could write Greek with one hand and Latin with the other at the same time]]. Garfield was also the first President to ever talk on the phone - the man on the other end was Alexander Graham Bell, no less! Bell would later invent one of the first known metal detectors in an effort to locate the bullet lodged in Garfield's body, only for the detector to be rendered useless when Garfield's doctors refused to allow him to be moved from the metal-framed bed where he was resting. He also found a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem while serving in Congress.

James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) is most famous for having the same name as [[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} a cartoon cat]].[[note]]In case you're wondering, cartoonist Jim Davis named the character after his grandfather, James A. Garfield Davis, rather than the former president. Still, given his grandfather's name, the cat was named after the president indirectly.[[/note]]

-->--'''James A. Garfield'''

He [[GunsAkimbo could write Greek with one hand and Latin with the other at the same time]]. Garfield was also the first President to ever talk on the phone - the man on the other end was Alexander Graham Bell, no less! Bell would later invent one of the first known metal detectors in an effort to locate the bullet lodged in Garfield's body, only for the detector to be rendered useless when Garfield's doctors refused to allow him to be moved from the metal-framed bed where he was resting.

In his early career, he served as college president and a preacher before joining the army. He distinguished himself enough to rise to the rank of Brigadier General before serving as Chief of Staff to the commander of Ohio's Army of the Cumberland. Garfield was only the overall commander of the Union forces in one battle, the Battle of Middle Creek, which helped secure Kentucky for the Union, paving the way to push forward into Tennessee. Less than thirty of Garfield's men died in the battle. After the war, he had an 18-year career as a Member of Congress for Ohio. In 1880, he was elected to the presidency straight from his seat as a Representative, becoming the only American ever to do so.[[GotVolunteered Garfield did not campaign for the 1880 Republican nomination and was unhappy to receive it,]] but he represented his party against Democratic candidate Winfield Scott Hancock, winning the presidency by 59 electoral votes and approximately 7,000 popular votes.

[[quoteright:251:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/JGimage.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:251:[[http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=134 Not the cat.]]]]

'''James Abram Garfield''' (November 19, 1831 -- September 19, 1881) is most famous for having the same name as [[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} a cartoon cat]].[[note]]In case you're wondering, cartoonist Jim Davis named the character after his grandfather, James A. Garfield Davis, rather than the former president. Still, given his grandfather's name, the cat was named after the president indirectly.[[/note]]

Despite Guiteau claiming the doctors had killed the president, not him, ("I only shot him," more than a little correct)[[note]]Not that this would have legally absolved Guiteau of responsibility; see also FelonyMurder for why.[[/note]], he was duly found guilty and executed.

James Garfield was president in [[TheGildedAge 1881]], right after UsefulNotes/RutherfordBHayes and before UsefulNotes/ChesterAArthur. In his early career, he served as college president and a preacher before joining the army. He distinguished himself enough to rise to the rank of Brigadier General before serving as Chief of Staff to the commander of Ohio's Army of the Cumberland. After the war, he had an 18-year career as a Member of Congress for Ohio. In 1880, he was elected to the presidency straight from his seat as a Representative, becoming the only American ever to do so. He won the popular vote by fewer than 8,000 votes.

This incident is credited by some for convincing future Presidents that perhaps using government jobs as rewards may not be such a good idea. Garfield himself had complained before his shooting about how many would-be officeholders were requesting a handout, and the fact he was gunned down by a would-be appointee spurred the system. He also notably complained that being in politics cut down on his free time - in a commencement address. While not often portrayed in popular culture, he was, of course one of the subjects of the Music/StephenSondheim musical ''{{Theatre/Assassins}}''. He was also discussed in Sarah Vowell's book ''Assassination Vacation'', and was voiced in the audiobook by none other than Creator/JonStewart.

->'''Garfield:''' Old boy! Do you think my name will have a place in human history?\\
'''Rockwell:''' Yes, a grand one, but a grander one in human hearts. Old fellow, you mustn’t talk in that way. You have a great work yet to perform.\\
'''Garfield:''' No. My work is done.
-->--Conversation between Garfield and his secretary, Colonel Almon F. Rockwell, the day before he died. These have been reported as his [[LastWords last spoken words.]]

This incident is credited by some for convincing future Presidents that perhaps using government jobs as rewards may not be such a good idea. Garfield himself had complained before his shooting about how many would-be officeholders were requesting a handout, and the fact he was gunned down by a would-be appointee spurred the system. He also notably complained that being in politics cut down on his free time - in a commencement address. While not often portrayed in popular culture, he was, of course one of the subjects of the StephenSondheim musical ''{{Theatre/Assassins}}''. He was also discussed in Sarah Vowell's book ''Assassination Vacation'', and was voiced in the audiobook by none other than Creator/JonStewart.

He [[GunsAkimbo could write Greek with one hand and Latin with the other at the same time]]. Garfield was also the first President to ever talk on the phone - the man on the other end was Alexander Graham Bell, no less!

James Garfield was president in [[TheGildedAge 1881]], right after UsefulNotes/RutherfordBHayes and before UsefulNotes/ChesterAArthur. In his early career, he served as college president and a preacher before joining the army. He distinguished himself enough to rise to the rank of Brigadier General before serving as Chief of Staff to the commander of Ohio's Army of the Cumberland. After the war, he had an 18-year career as a State Representative for Ohio. In 1880, he was elected to the presidency straight from his seat as a Representative, becoming the only American ever to do so. He won the popular vote by fewer than 8,000 votes.

'''James Garfield''' (November 19, 1831 -- September 19, 1881) is most famous for having the same name as [[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} a cartoon cat]].[[note]]In case you're wondering, cartoonist Jim Davis named the character after his grandfather, James A. Garfield Davis, rather than the former president. Still, given his grandfather's name, the cat was named after the president indirectly.[[/note]]

The wound would not have killed him if it were left alone, but then [[WorstAid the doctors got involved]]. Their terribly botched treatment (as Pasteur had not yet discovered germ theory, they tried to remove the bullet with their ''bare hands'', and as they refused to belive Lister's theories on contamination, they used unsterilized tools several times) turned a minor bullet wound into a massive, fatal infection, which left the president in intense pain for eighty days before killing him. Garfield died on Monday, September 19, 1881.

The wound would not have killed him if it were left alone, but then [[WorstAid the doctors got involved]]. Their terribly botched treatment (as Pasteur had not yet discovered germ theory, they tried to remove the bullet with their ''bare hands'') turned a minor bullet wound into a massive, fatal infection, which left the president in intense pain for eighty days before killing him. Garfield died on Monday, September 19, 1881.

%%!!Tropes as portrayed in fiction:

The wound would not have killed him if it were left alone, but then [[WorstAid the doctors got involved]]. Their terribly botched treatment (as Pasteur had not yet discovered germ theory, they tried to remove the bullet with their ''bare hands'') turned a minor bullet wound into a massive, fatal infection, which left the president in intense pain for eighty days before killing him. Garfield died on Sunday, September 19, 1881.

->''[[HarsherInHindsight "Assassination can be no more guarded against than death by lightning; it is best not to worry about either.]]"''\\
--'''James A. Garfield'''

->'''Garfield:''' "Old boy! Do you think my name will have a place in human history?"
->'''Rockwell:''' "Yes, a grand one, but a grander one in human hearts. Old fellow, you mustn’t talk in that way. [[PlanningForTheFutureBeforeTheEnd You have a great work yet to perform."]]
->'''Garfield:''' [[SorryThatImDying "No. My work is done."]]\\
--Conversation between Garfield and his secretary, Colonel Almon F. Rockwell, the day before he died. These have been reported as his [[LastWords last spoken words.]]

'''James Garfield''' (November 19, 1831 -- September 19, 1881) is most famous for having the same name as [[{{ComicStrip/Garfield}} a cartoon cat]].[[note]]In case you're wondering, cartoonist Jim Davis named the character after his grandfather, James A. Garfield Davis, rather than the former president. Still, given his grandfather's name, the cat was named after the president indirectly.[[/note]]

The wound would not have killed him if it were left alone, but then [[MeatGrinderSurgery the doctors got involved]]. Their terribly botched treatment (as Pasteur had not yet discovered germ theory, they tried to remove the bullet with their ''bare hands'') turned a minor bullet wound into a massive, fatal infection, which left the president in intense pain for eighty days before killing him. Garfield died on Sunday, September 19, 1881.

Tropes commonly associated with Garfield:

* ArchEnemy: Senator Roscoe Conkling. A New York senator and important political figure, leader of the Republican Stalwart faction. He headed an infamously corrupt political machine that controlled the appointments for the most important federal civil service posts. He and Garfield became bitter rivals due to the latter's plans to carry out a civil service reform.
* BadassBookworm: He could read an entire 500 page book in one day. He greatly enjoyed the nuances of legal work and policy making, even being capable of writing entire journals of policy notes and could write in two different languages at the same time. When he was in Congress in 1876, he constructed a novel proof to the [[http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMT668/emt668.student.folders/HeadAngela/essay1/Pythagorean.html Pythagorean Theorem]].
* BadassPreacher: He was a protestant lay preacher until the late 1850's, when he saw the Civil War approaching and decided to begin military training. He eventually became a pretty efficient Brigadier General.
* EarlyBirdCameo: A few months before shooting Garfield, Charles Guiteau visited the White House to request a position as Ambassador to France. He met Garfield and Secretry of State James Blaine, who heard his request, but swiftly dismissed him.
* GenreSavvy: He foresaw the outbreak of the Civil War by the mid-1850's, upon which he became involved in politics and military training.
* [[GunsAkimbo Pens Akimbo]]: He could write in Greek with one hand and Latin with the other at the same time.
* StopHelpingMe: The bullet wound that Charles Guiteau inflicted on him was non-fatal. However, the severe infections that he developed due to unsterilized treatment by his doctors weren't.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Though he's typically been dismissed as a nonentity, a lot of recent historians (namely Kenneth J. Ackerman and Candace Millard) argue that Garfield, due to his honesty, willingness to stand up to Conkling and other Stalwarts, and enthusiasm for reform and African-American rights, would have made a great President had he lived. Of course, this is mere conjecture.
----

The wound would not have killed him if it were left alone, but then [[StopHelpingMe the doctors got involved]]. Their terribly botched treatment (as Pasteur had not yet discovered germ theory, they tried to remove the bullet with their ''bare hands'') turned a minor bullet wound into a massive, fatal infection, which left the president in intense pain for eighty days before killing him. Garfield died on Sunday, September 19, 1881.

Despite Guiteau claiming the doctors had killed the president, not him, ("I only shot him," more than a little correct), he was duly found guilty and executed.

'''James Garfield''' (November 19, 1832 -- September 19, 1881) is most famous for having the same name as [[{{ComicStrip/Garfield}} a cartoon cat]].[[note]]In case you're wondering, cartoonist Jim Davis named the character after his grandfather, James A. Garfield Davis, rather than the former president. Still, given his grandfather's name, the cat was named after the president indirectly.[[/note]]

The wound would not have killed him if it were left alone, but then [[StopHelpingMe the doctors got involved]]. Their terribly botched treatment (as Pasteur had not yet discovered germ theory, they tried to remove the bullet with their ''bare hands'') turned a minor bullet wound into a massive, fatal infection, which left the president in intense pain for eighty days before killing him. Garfield died on Monday, September 19, 1881.

'''James Garfield''' is most famous for having the same name as [[{{ComicStrip/Garfield}} a cartoon cat]].[[note]]In case you're wondering, cartoonist Jim Davis named the character after his grandfather, James A. Garfield Davis, rather than the former president. Still, given his grandfather's name, the cat was named after the president indirectly.[[/note]]

->''"All free governments are managed by the combined wisdom and folly of the people."''

->''"[[HarsherInHindsight "Assassination can be no more guarded against than death by lightning; it is best not to worry about either.]]"''\\

James Garfield was president in [[TheGildedAge 1881]], right after UsefulNotes/RutherfordBHayes and before ChesterAArthur. In his early career, he served as college president and a preacher before joining the army. He distinguished himself enough to rise to the rank of Brigadier General before serving as Chief of Staff to the commander of Ohio's Army of the Cumberland. After the war, he had an 18-year career as a State Representative for Ohio. In 1880, he was elected to the presidency straight from his seat as a Representative, becoming the only American ever to do so. He won the popular vote by fewer than 8,000 votes.