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Notice that I didn’t use ‘President’ in my reference above? While he is my favorite president, it’s not for politics alone that he serves that capacity. It was the dignified manner in which he carried out his life, serving others, standing for what was right, and loving God with all his might.
He was born the last of the log cabin presidents. He worked through the village school at Orange, Ohio before going to work on the canal boats on the Erie Canal. After several rather risky slips, he fell off a canal boat with only a knot in a rope held fast to the ship saving him from drowning. Deciding he was saved by God, he returned home to a praying mother and began to see The Lord lead him down a different path. He attended school at the Geauga Seminary for a time and would later go on to The Eclectic Institute (today, Hiram College) and Williams College. During his time at Geauga, he would work on a nearby farm to support his education, even staying up late to read. He would later remark on the necessity for one to be knowledgeable of the classics. He later was appointed as a professor and was the president of the college by age 26. Despite his geographical location, Garfield read the Bible at 7pm, even inviting those that may be near to join in his disciplined practice.
After the Civil War broke out, Garfield enlisted, eventually elevating to leadership and making some brilliant but risky calls. Before the end of the war, though toward its’ end, the state of Ohio elected him to represent them in the House of Representatives. Unsure of whether to leave his military duties for public office, he reached out to none other than President Abraham Lincoln for counsel. Lincoln encouraged him to take his place in Congress. Upon entering Congress, he was their youngest member and would go on to lead an 18-year long career there. To best describe his effect on Congress, I cite from F.M. Green’s biography “A Royal Life”: “His political career was one unbroken service to his country. Republican though he was, trained in a school that hated slavery as it hated sin, and with profound convictions upon every subject upon which he thought or spoke, he never made a speech that was not noticeable for honesty of purpose, clearness of vision, soundness of judgment, good logic, and overwhelming evidence, while framed in beautiful words, and animated by complete charity and manly courtesy (p. 288).”
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He experienced his share of controversy, being accused of various actions to which he successfully defended his absence from such dealings. Enough so that the Republican National Convention elected him to be their candidate for President. During an eloquent speech in support of his friend, John Sherman, one member answered his rhetorical question of “What do we want?,” with “We want Garfield!” After 34 ballots in a deadlock between Ulysses S. Grant (believed to be a shoo-in), the aforementioned Sherman, and James G. Blaine, Garfield was nominated. Surprised that he had even been considered, he found it hard to turn down the responsibility entrusted to him despite never having ‘presidential fever,’ as he called it.
Garfield won easily over Democratic opponent, Winfield Scott Hancock, during the 1880 election. He was sworn in on March 4, 1881. He was unfortunately shot by a deranged former office seeker four months later on July 2. The assassin convinced he was doing God a favor by killing Garfield for not appointing him Ambassador of France, despite the fact that he didn’t speak French. Garfield laid up in the White House for two months, before being transferred to the cooler New Jersey shore shortly before his passing.
Here’s why I am so inspired and, frankly, compelled by President Garfield. He was honest and brilliant. He was known to go to the Library of Congress and request a book on a topic he knew nothing about. He could simultaneously write in Greek in his left hand and Latin in his right hand. He is the only sitting member of the House of Representatives to be elected President of the United States. On Election night 1880, he was a member of the House of Representatives, Senator-elect, and President-elect. The only time such an event ever occurred. He appointed blacks to government positions 80 years before the Civil Rights movement. He spoke well and was well-read of every topic he discussed. Of the speeches printed by the Government Printing Office for public consumption, one-quarter of those speeches requested by the public were given by Garfield. But most of all, he knew Who created the world and saved the world and dedicated his life to serving Him. He was well-studied of the Word of God and was unashamed of it, beating out a respected evolutionist in an impossible debate in his early years. When chaos broke out in the busy New York streets the day following the loss of Lincoln, he disrupted the mobs by simply stating “Another telegram from Washington! Fellow-citizens! Clouds and darkness are round about 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!”
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Similar to Julie Powell’s experience cooking her way through Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” developing a ‘relationship’ with Julia Child along the way in the book and subsequent film “Julie & Julia,” I feel that I have begun developing a relationship with a man who died long before the oldest person currently living. Finding words to express the power and presence of James A. Garfield and what he means to me is an almost impossible task. But in the tradition of Garfield, I give it my best shot. For those interested in learning more, I would point them to F.M. Green’s bio “A Royal Life.” While currently out-of-print, a free eBook copy is available from Google Books. Be inspired!