Presidents Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, and Harrison

 

There were four presidents who served in the 1800’s who did not do much to benefit the country, but were still important presidents in America’s history. They worked hard during their early lives, and did the best they could trying to make the U.S. a better place.

James A. Garfield was born in Ohio in 1831, and spent his childhood on his family’s modest farm. He worked hard throughout college, and graduated from Williams College in 1856. After college, Garfield dedicated his life to politics as a Republican. During the Civil War, he served as a major general, and in 1862 he was elected to Congress. He served in the Chairman of the Military Affairs, Appropriations, and the Ways and Means committees. In 1880 Garfield was elected to the Senate, and ran as a compromise presidential candidate during this time as well. Garfield was elected as president, and was inaugurated in 1881. In June in 1881, the newly elected president was scheduled to provide a speech at Williams College, but was shot on the way. The shooter, Charles Guiteau, claimed that he heard God commanding him to shoot Garfield. Charles was later put in a mental hospital. An early metal detector was used to find the bullet that struck Garfield, but the search was unsuccessful. Two months after being shot, Garfield died from an infection from the wound in September 1881. Garfield only served 200 days as president, which is the second shortest presidency to date.

Chester A. Arthur was born in Vermont in 1829, but grew up in New York. During the Civil War, Arthur became a lawyer and was a quartermaster general in the Civil War. After several years of serving as Collector of the Port of New York, he was elected as Garfield’s vice president. Arthur became president after Garfield’s assassination, causing the cabinet to resign. The new president decided not to replace the cabinet with his own political supporters; he wanted to find the best men for the job. He is best remembered for banishing the spoils system and any other systems like it. Those who believed that Arthur would be a terrible president were proven wrong by his mass support. Several other presidents have not had such an excellent presidency as Chester Arthur’s.

Stephen Grover Cleveland was born in New Jersey in 1837, and was the son of a Presbyterian minister. Cleveland was forced to leave school in his teen years and take a 2-year apprenticeship to support his family. After returning to school, Cleveland’s father died, so he spent several years trying to find jobs to earn a living. He traveled to Buffalo, New York, and accepted a job as a clerk at a law firm. In 1859, after studying hard, Cleveland was admitted to the bar in New York. During the Civil War, Cleveland paid a Polish immigrant to take his place in the war. Cleveland is remembered for his hard work and dedication in the law office. He disagreed with Republican beliefs, leading to him siding with the Democrats in his early life. He served as Sheriff of Erie County, New York, Mayor of Buffalo, and Governor of New York before his election to president. He was the Democratic nominee for president in 1884, and during his campaign, a scandal broke out. This scandal was that a woman, who Cleveland was fond of, gave birth to a baby with the same last name Cleveland. The woman was taken to a mental hospital while the child was adopted by a new family. Rather than covering it up, Cleveland took full responsibility for this scandal and opened up to the public. This showed everyone how much of a truthful man he was, leading to more voters supporting him. Cleveland almost lost the popular votes, but won the electoral votes: 219-182. He strongly believed in free market policies, and won much praise for his honesty. Although he was a Democrat, several Republicans voted Democrat because they strongly respected Cleveland and wanted him as their president.

Benjamin Harrison was born in 1833 in Ohio, and spent a lot of time outdoors as a child. At the age of 9, his grandfather William Henry Harrison was the first president to die in office. In 1847 Benjamin went to college and met his future wife. He graduated in 1852, and became a member of a Presbyterian church. Benjamin married Caroline Lavinia Scott in 1853, and they had two children. Harrison began to study law, and later in 1858 he entered a law partnership. Harrison served as Reporter for the Indian Supreme Court, Colonel of a Union regiment during the Civil War and U.S. Senator before he became president. He ran against Cleveland in the 1888 election, and campaigned mostly from his hometown, unlike other candidates. Harrison lost the popular vote, but won the Electoral College 233-168. His major moves as president were promoting high tariffs, passing The Sherman Antitrust Act, and high federal spending levels. Harrison is remembered for adding Hawaii as a part of the United States. Benjamin ran again in the 1892 election, but lost to Cleveland.

These presidents hold an important place in American history. They were hard working honest men who stuck to their beliefs. There hard work in law helped them preform as excellent presidents.