Mr. Garfield: Role Model

James A. Garfield was our 20th president, and sadly enough not many people today know anything about him. Today, let’s take a brief look at his life on the occasion of his 180th birthday.

James A. Garfield; Image via Wikipedia

He was born in Ohio on November 19, 1831. His family had been in this country for over 200 years by that time; his father’s ancestors having moved to Massachusetts in 1630. Garfield was brought up in a Christian home and he was educated in Christian schools, including Hiram College which was one of the leading schools affiliated with the Stone-Campbell Movement (“The Disciples”)

Garfield Institute for Public Leadership, Hiram CollegeImage via Wikipedia

Young Garfield demonstrated that he was an exceptional intellect and soon became a teacher who made great efforts to instill young people with knowledge and Christian beliefs and values. In 1857 at the age of 26, he became the president of Hiram College, and the writings left behind by others demonstrate that young Garfield had a profound affect upon the students there passing on his thirst for knowledge and leading them to levels of scholarship that had not been achieved previously. During this period, Garfield also preached extensively in churches in the area.

His reputation grew quickly, and in 1858 he was elected to represent Ohio in the US House of Representatives as an anti-slavery Republican. There his achievements were quite unusual for a freshman Representative making major contributions in the areas of geology, fiance, education and parliamentary law.

As the Civil War began in 1861, Garfield was appointed to the Ohio Volunteers and raised a regiment to serve in the war. By the end of the conflict, Garfield had risen to the rank of Major General in the Union Army and was well-known as a war hero.

General Garfield; Image via Wikipedia

After the war, Garfield returned to Congress and won acclaim for his efforts there. During this period, he was one of a group of men who started the “Christian Standard” magazine, a publication dedicated to the spread of Biblical Christianity which is still in publication today. In 1880, he was elected the 20th president of the United States.

His term in office was short; he took office on March 4, 1881 and was hit by an assassin’s bullet on July 2 He was returned to the White House where he lingered until September 15 when he died. Sadly, his death would not have been likely to have occurred in later years when medicine was better able to deal with such wounds.

Assassination of President Garfield; Image via Wikipedia

Of course, this is hardly an exhaustive biography; it is a mere thumbnail sketch, really. There is more information available at http://www.jamesgarfield.org/ for those who are interested.

South façade of the White House, the executive...

Image via Wikipedia

One thing we can take away from Mr. Garfield’s life is that hard work, a thirst for knowledge, a love of Jesus Christ and the desire to live a life that gives Him glory can take a young person a very long way in this life.