Caroline Norton

The Assassination of Mr. President

James Garfield was the 20th president of the United States. He was a man with a good sense of humor, and a friendly family man. James Garfield's family was a major key in his life and all that is shown during his last days after being shot by an assassin he still cared for the people that looked up to him for help and protection. Unfortunately James was not given the time to prove to the country the ways he could change the country and make it even a more united nation.

James Abram Garfield a man of little stature but still a president in all aspects. James Garfield was born in 1831 and he was the twentieth president of the United States in 1881. James was the first president to be born in a log cabin, and the first to have his mother present at his inauguration. His achievements increased as he moved up on the political ladder. An example is when he was elected into senate as a republican representative for Ohio. He was a just president for an example, "he fought political corruption and he won back the presidency measure that was lost during the reconstruction time after the civil war" (The White House 1). He was not a president that would step back if he was brought to a problem of how he would judge and rule. He stood up for what he saw as just. Mr. James Garfield was a family man, he loved his family and always tried to be a major part in their lives, because he knew how it felt to not have a father in your life, for he lost his when he was only 18 months old.

James A. Garfield was very involved with his family. He had seven children and a wife the he loved very much. James A. Garfield treasured and respected his wife, she helped him in many ways to get him to the president role. In Junior Reference Collection says "James Garfield was an intelligent and good-natured man who was affectionate with friends and family." James did not allow the stress and demands of being president get in the way of him being a friend, a father, or a husband. He was a man that tried to make people feel comfortable and welcome. It is said in American Presidents: Life Portraits that he had a good sense of humor, "he would entertain his guest by writing Latin with one hand and with the other Greek ." He may have been more of a friend or a hostess than a president, but it is said that he was a great orator.

James A Garfield was elected into the Ohio senate in 1869 as a republican, at the age of 31 he was a brigadier general. "Garfield easily defeated his opponent in his first run for Congress, and was reelected eight times, serving from 1863 to 1880. During the American Civil War, Garfield was a member of the Radical caucus within the Republican