James A. Garfield, the 20th president, only lasted 200 days in office before an assassin’s bullet ended his tenure. Aside from being fateful, his presidency may seem all but forgetful. This may be true. But there was a life that led to that presidency and the egregious moment on July 2, 1881; and it is a life so tremendous and inspiring that its near dissipation in the American memory is a disservice to moderns.
C.W. Goodyear has written a triumph of a biography on the great statesman, and indeed he proves that Garfield deserves to be termed as such.
Official White House portrait of James Garfield, 1881. (Public Domain)
Man of Character
The greatness of Garfield’s statesmanship was infused less by his education and more by his work ethic. Indeed it was the latter that ensured the former. Goodyear notes that Garfield was a man aware of his impoverished upbringing, and that it was a driving force behind his educational, intellectual, and political pursuits. That upbringing, founded with strong Christian roots, also formed a lovability. He had a charm that was gravitational to young and old, and it was a genuine charm. Goodyear chronicles his times as a school master, a field officer, and a political figure where people, even in their disputes, could hardly find reason to dislike him. He was, as Goodyear makes clear, a rarity….