James A. Garfield

James A. Garfield is a member of an interesting trio of presidents defined not by what they did in office, but by the early dissolution of their administrations. He, William Henry Harrison, and, to a lesser extent, Zachary Taylor are often excluded from academic rankings of US presidents. This is because all 3 of them died very early into their presidencies: Harrison died of pneumonia exactly one month into office and Taylor died of a stomach virus just under a year-and-a-half after he assumed the helm of president.

Soon after moving into the White House, Charles Guiteau, a mentally unstable lawyer who supported Garfield in the previous election, demanded to be made ambassador to France in exchange for his support during the 1880 presidential race. Garfield, however, refused to give Guiteau the office. Outraged, Guiteau began stalking Garfield around Washington DC. Then, on July 2, 1881, Guiteau shot Garfield at a train station. Garfield was rushed to medical care, where incompetent doctors deluded by the myths of their time only managed to push the bullet deeper into his body. Consequently, the bullet poisoned Garfield's bloodstream and killed him on September 19, 1881. As a result, the Garfield Administration terminated after only a few months.

Because of how brief their tenures were, Harrison, Taylor, and Garfield tend to be exempted from rankings. I agree with Harrison's exclusion; being in office for only one month ensured that he truly didn't do anything with the presidency. Taylor actually had enough time to accomplish several things, so I disagree with his exemption. My assessment of Garfield's expulsion from these lists is similar to Taylor's: Garfield may have not served for very long, but he did do some things during that swift period.

Garfield replaced Rutherford B. Hayes as president on March 4, 1881. An abolitionist and veteran of the American Civil War who fought with the Union, Garfield was remarkably progressive on racial issues. In fact, the Democratic Party forged a fake letter during the 1880 election supposedly written by Garfield in which he allegedly endorsed Chinese immigration to the US. His dedication to racial equality and justice was actively used against him. Yet, Garfield remained steadfast in his support of these goals. And as president, Garfield attempted to implement policies that would improve life for America's racial and ethnic minorities.

More specifically, Garfield wanted to establish a series of schools that children of black, Native American, Asian, Latino, etc. descent could attend for free. Garfield's logic was that if non-white people were more educated, they'd both become far more respected and learn the skills they need to improve their treatment. I agree with this thinking and believe that race relations would be far better in the US had this idea prevailed.

Additionally, like with John Quincy Adams' idea of a state-owned university, Garfield's proposal may have normalized the idea of decommodifying higher education. In other words, this policy would show the American public that free college is a sustainable idea, as racial minorities were already enjoying such a policy in a stable manner. Hence, universities that are free to attend would seem like a less ridiculous idea, and so may be implemented far sooner. This would open up economic and financial opportunities to millions of poor Americans.

Furthermore, Garfield did have some legitimate accomplishments in office, especially in terms of economic management. As president, Garfield suspended and halted the sale of government bonds with an interest rate over 6%. In doing this, Garfield reduced the amount of money Washington DC owed its citizens and decreased the average interest rate on the remaining debts.

While this is likely because of how short his term was, Garfield only really had one major real flaw: He often appointed people to government posts for silly, irrational reasons. The most obscene example of this is his decision to make Lew Wallace the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Wallace was a popular novelist who hadn't published any successful stories in the years leading up to Garfield's entry into the White House. So, Garfield made him ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in hopes that life in that country would give Wallace an idea for a new book.

Overall, however, James A. Garfield was a great president whose administration was decorated with inspiring potential. The reforms he proposed were amazing and would have drastically improved the state of American race relations and the American economy. And even though his potential was constricted by the efforts of a madman and the incompetence of pseudoscience, he still left his mark on the country.