James A. Garfield Timeline

(1831 - 1881)

James A. Garfield was an American statesman, Civil War general, and the 20th President of the United States. Born into poverty in Ohio, he rose to prominence as a scholar, educator, congressman, and reform-minded president before his assassination just months into his term in 1881. More Less

Go to: Timeline | Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Early Life and Education

James A. Garfield is born in Orange Township, Ohio

Nov 19, 1831

James Abram Garfield was born on November 19, 1831, in a log cabin in Orange Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. He was the last of five children born to Abram and Eliza Garfield, a poor farming family of English ancestry.

Image source: James A. Garfield

Garfield's father Abram dies

May 3, 1833

Abram Garfield died when James was just under two years old, leaving the family deeply impoverished. His mother Eliza raised the children alone, instilling in James a strong work ethic and love of reading that would shape his remarkable rise from poverty.

Garfield works as a canal boat driver

1848

As a teenager, Garfield spent several months working as a driver and deck hand on canal boats on the Ohio and Erie Canal, an experience he later called formative. He fell seriously ill during this period before deciding to pursue education instead.

Garfield enrolls at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute

1850

Garfield enrolled at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later Hiram College) in Hiram, Ohio, where he excelled academically. He became a teacher there shortly after graduating, demonstrating his talents as an educator and scholar.

Image source: Hiram College

Garfield graduates from Williams College

1856

Garfield transferred to Williams College in Massachusetts and graduated with honors in 1856. He was recognized for his debating skills and intellectual ability, and returned to Ohio to resume teaching at the Eclectic Institute, soon becoming its president.

Image source: Williams College

Garfield marries Lucretia Rudolph

Nov 11, 1858

Garfield married Lucretia 'Crete' Rudolph, a former student and classmate from the Eclectic Institute, on November 11, 1858. The couple would have seven children together, though only five survived to adulthood.

Image source: Lucretia Garfield

Garfield elected to the Ohio State Senate

Oct 8, 1859 - 1861

In 1859, at age 28, Garfield won election to the Ohio State Senate representing Summit and Portage counties, serving until 1861. There he opposed secession and supported strengthening the Union militarily as war approached.

Image source: 2026 United States Senate special election in Ohio

Garfield ordained as a Disciples of Christ minister

1860

Raised in the Disciples of Christ faith, Garfield preached regularly and was ordained as a minister around 1860. His eloquence in religious settings foreshadowed his skills as a public speaker and politician.

Image source: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Military and Early Career

Garfield admitted to the Ohio bar

Jan 11, 1861

Garfield passed the bar examination and was admitted to practice law in Ohio in January 1861. Though he had largely taught himself law while teaching school, he rarely practiced, as the Civil War and politics soon consumed his attention.

Garfield commissioned lieutenant colonel in Union Army

Aug 1861

After the outbreak of the Civil War, Garfield helped raise the 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment and was commissioned its lieutenant colonel in August 1861. He rose quickly due to his intelligence and leadership abilities.

Battle of Middle Creek

Jan 10, 1862

Brigadier General Garfield led a small force to victory over Confederate troops at Middle Creek in eastern Kentucky on January 10, 1862. This victory secured Union control of the Big Sandy Valley and earned him national recognition and promotion to brigadier general.

Image source: Battle of Middle Creek

Battle of Chickamauga

Sep 19, 1863 - Sep 20, 1863

Serving as chief of staff to Major General William Rosecrans in the Army of the Cumberland, Garfield distinguished himself at the Battle of Chickamauga by riding through enemy fire to deliver critical orders. His conduct earned him promotion to major general of volunteers in September 1863.

Image source: Battle of Chickamauga

Congressional Career

Garfield elected to U.S. House of Representatives

Oct 13, 1862

While still serving in the army, Garfield was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives in October 1862. He initially declined to leave military service until President Lincoln persuaded him that his vote was more valuable in Congress than his generalship in the field.

Image source: United States House of Representatives

Garfield takes seat in Congress

Dec 7, 1863 - Mar 4, 1881

Garfield took his seat in the 38th Congress in December 1863, beginning nearly eighteen years of continuous House service. He resigned his military commission in December 1864 to focus on his legislative career.

Garfield supports Radical Reconstruction policies

1865 - 1870

During early Reconstruction, Garfield aligned with the Radical Republicans, voting for the Fourteenth Amendment and supporting civil rights legislation for freedmen. Over time, he moderated his positions and emphasized fiscal restraint alongside civil rights.

Image source: Reconstruction era

Garfield supports Radical Reconstruction policies

Black Friday gold panic investigation

1870 - 1873

Garfield chaired investigations into financial scandals including the Black Friday gold panic of 1869 and the Sanborn contracts affair. His reputation as an able investigator strengthened his standing within the Republican Party.

Image source: Black Friday (1869)

Garfield chairs Appropriations Committee

1871 - 1875

Garfield served as chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee from 1871 to 1875, where he championed hard money policies, opposed inflationary greenback currency expansion, and pushed for sound federal finances after the Civil War debt.

Image source: United States House Committee on Appropriations

Crédit Mobilier scandal implicates Garfield

Sep 4, 1872

The New York Sun exposed the Crédit Mobilier scandal in September 1872, revealing that Garfield had accepted $329 in stock dividends from the corrupt railroad construction company. Garfield denied wrongdoing but the episode damaged his reputation, though it did not end his career.

Image source: Crédit Mobilier scandal

Salary grab controversy of 1873

Mar 3, 1873

Congress voted itself a retroactive pay raise in March 1873, known derisively as the 'salary grab.' Garfield had voted for it and was criticized heavily, contributing to a close reelection race in 1874 that he narrowly won amid Democratic gains.

Compromise of 1877 ends Reconstruction

Feb 26, 1877 - Mar 2, 1877

Garfield played a key role negotiating the Compromise of 1877, which resolved the disputed Hayes–Tilden presidential election by withdrawing federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction. His statesmanship elevated him among party leaders.

Image source: Compromise of 1877

Garfield elected to U.S. Senate by Ohio legislature

Jan 13, 1880 - Mar 4, 1881

The Ohio General Assembly elected Garfield to the U.S. Senate in January 1880, set to begin in March 1881. However, events at the Republican National Convention that summer would redirect his political future entirely.

Image source: United States Senate

Presidency

Republican National Convention deadlocks between Grant and Blaine factions

Jun 2, 1880 - Jun 5, 1880

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago, delegates deadlocked between former president Ulysses S. Grant's Stalwart faction and James G. Blaine's Half-Breed faction. Garfield served as floor manager for John Sherman's candidacy while delivering a powerful nominating speech.

Image source: 1880 Republican National Convention

Garfield nominated for president as dark horse compromise

Jun 8, 1880

On the thirty-fourth ballot, delegates seeking unity turned to Garfield as a dark horse compromise candidate. Despite his protests, he received the nomination on June 8, 1880, becoming the only sitting House member ever nominated for president by a major party.

Garfield narrowly defeats Winfield Scott Hancock

Nov 2, 1880

Garfield defeated Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock in one of the closest popular votes in history, winning by fewer than 2,000 votes nationally but decisively in the Electoral College, 214 to 155. Republicans also captured both houses of Congress.

Image source: 1880 United States presidential election

Garfield inaugurated as 20th president

Mar 4, 1881

Garfield took the oath of office as the 20th president of the United States on March 4, 1881, on the East Portico of the Capitol. In his inaugural address, he emphasized civil rights for African Americans, civil service reform, and universal education.

Image source: Assassination of James A. Garfield

Star Route postal fraud scandal exposed

Apr 1881 - 1882

Shortly after taking office, Garfield's administration uncovered corruption in the Star Route mail service, where contractors had bribed officials for lucrative delivery contracts. Garfield pursued prosecutions vigorously, making the scandal an early test of reform-minded leadership.

Image source: Star Route scandal

Conkling resigns over feud with Garfield administration

May 16, 1881

Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York resigned in protest after Garfield nominated William Robertson, Conkling's political enemy, to collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused to back down, and the Senate confirmed Robertson — a landmark assertion of presidential authority over the spoils system.

Image source: Roscoe Conkling

Assassination and Legacy

Charles Guiteau shoots President Garfield

Jul 2, 1881

On July 2, 1881, Charles J. Guiteau, a disgruntled office-seeker who believed God had ordered the act, shot Garfield twice at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. One bullet lodged near Garfield's spine; he survived for over two months while doctors attempted to remove it.

Image source: Assassination of James A. Garfield

President Garfield dies in Long Branch, New Jersey

Sep 19, 1881

After weeks of suffering worsened by unsanitary medical treatment, Garfield died on September 19, 1881, at Elberon, Long Branch, New Jersey, just six and a half months into his presidency. Vice President Chester A. Arthur succeeded him, and Garfield's death galvanized public support for civil service reform.

Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act signed into law

Jan 16, 1883

Outrage over Garfield's assassination by a disappointed office seeker spurred passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, signed by President Arthur on January 16, 1883. The law established merit-based competitive examinations for federal jobs, transforming American government and cementing Garfield's legacy as a catalyst for reform.

Image source: Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act

Key Facts

James A. Garfield was born on November 19, 1831, in a log cabin in Orange Township, Ohio, and rose from poverty through education, attending Williams College.
He served as a major general in the Union Army during the Civil War, notably at the Battle of Middle Creek in 1862, before being elected to Congress while still in uniform.
Garfield served nine terms as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio, from 1863 until his presidential election in 1880.
He was elected the 20th President of the United States in November 1880 and inaugurated on March 4, 1881, making his term one of the shortest in history.
Garfield was shot by assassin Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, 1881, at a railroad station in Washington, D.C., and died from complications of his wounds on September 19, 1881.

Source

This James A. Garfield timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

Want a timeline like this one?

Generate yours with AI or build it from scratch, for free.

Try It for Free