James A. Garfield Event Timeline

James A. Garfield (20) Event Timeline

03/04/1881 – 09/19/1881

06/02/1880 -
06/08/1880

Republican National Convention, Chicago. James A. Garfield was selected as the nominee on the 36th ballot. On the first ballot, former President Ulysses S. Grant, backed by the old-line "Stalwart" Republicans, received the largest number of votes, but less than the required majority. Until the 33rd ballot, Garfield had not received more than 2 votes. When it became clear that none of the leading candidates could win, votes shifted rapidly to Garfield. For Vice President, the Convention selected a Stalwart, Chester A. Arthur.

07/12/1880

Garfield letter accepting the Republican Nomination.

11/02/1880

Election Day. Garfield wins 58% of the Electoral College and 48.3% of the popular vote. Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock won 48.2%, and Greenback candidate James B. Weaver won 3% of the popular vote. The Senate was split evenly between Democrats and Republicans (37 seats each) with 1 independent and one "Readjuster." Republicans had a comfortable majority in the Senate (151-128).

12/01/1880

Electors cast their ballots.

1881

02/09/1881

Electoral votes tabulated by Congress.

03/04/1881

Inaugural Address. Garfield expresses his view that the gold standard is the safest foundation for the American monetary system.

03/05/1881

Cabinet nominees are approved by the Senate. Among them is Robert Lincoln, son of the former President Abraham Lincoln, as Secretary of War. Another is Thomas James, then postmaster of New York City as Postmaster General. James had a reputation as a reformer--important in light of spreading concern about corruption in the postal service (the so-called “star route” scandal). James’s nomination was opposed by New York Republican political boss Roscoe Conkling.

03/18/1881

Vice President Arthur twice casts the tie-breaking vote in the Senate to select the Republican slate of Committees and chairs.

03/23/1881

Sends the Senate nominations for important Federal offices in New York and elsewhere. William H. Robertson, nominated for Collector of Customs (a position held early in the Hayes Administration by now-Vice-President Arthur, subsequently by reformer Edwin Merritt) was opposed by New York Republican "boss" Roscoe Conkling. Senate Democrats began to filibuster the nominations as a way of objecting to providing positions sought by Virginia Democratic Senator William Mahone. Mahone had voted with the Republicans on the question Senate organization (see 03/18/1881). In the next weeks various Republicans try to persuade Garfield to compromise by appointing Robertson to a different position.

04/13/1881

About this date, decides to remove the "second assistant postmaster general" who is suspected of involvement in corruption (known as the "Star Routes" issue) and urges Postmaster James to undertake a through inquiry into the corruption.

04/24/1881

In an interview with the Philadelphia Press denies any political motive in nominating Robertson. (Reported in Life and Letters of James A. Garfield available online through the National Archives.)

05/04/1881

Notifies the Senate of withdrawal of five nominations made on 03/22/1881. The goal is to end the filibuster in the Senate. This opens the way for confirmation of Robertson. In private communications, Garfield states that winning Robertson's appointment is an assertion of Executive authority.

05/16/1881

Senators Roscoe Conkling and Thomas Platt resign from the Senate in a protest against Garfield’s appointments. Apparently, they expect to win immediate reelection in a special election. That did not occur.

05/18/1881

Senate confirms Robertson as collector of customs for the port of New York.

05/21/1881

The first local chapter of the American Association of the Red Cross is organized by Clara Barton in her Washington D.C. home with the support and advice of President Garfield. Garfield planned to advocate for the 1864 Geneva Convention, ratified by the US in 1882.

07/02/1881

Charles J. Guiteau, a deranged lawyer who supported the Stalwart faction of the Republican party, shoots President Garfield. The attack occurred at a Washington DC train station. Garfield lingers in gradually declining health for two months at the White House. In early September he is moved to the Jersey shore, to the village of Elberon.

07/04/1881

Opening of the Tuskegee Normal School under the leadership of Booker T. Washington. Teacher salaries had been funded by the Alabama Legislature in a bill passed 02/12/1881. Washington established the curriculum emphasizing practical skills and self-help.

09/19/1881

President Garfield succumbs and dies. Vice President Chester A. Arthur becomes the President of the United States.