James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881, until his death six months later. A lawyer and Civil War general, he served nine terms in the House of Representatives, the only sitting member of the House to be elected president. Before his candidacy for the White House, he had been elected to the Senate by the Ohio General Assembly, a position he declined when he became president-elect.
Garfield was born into poverty in a log cabin and grew up in northeastern Ohio. After graduating from Williams College, he studied law and became an attorney. He was elected as a Republican member of the Ohio State Senate in 1859, serving until 1861. He opposed Confederate secession, was a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and fought in the battles of Middle Creek, Shiloh, and Chickamauga. Garfield was elected to Congress in 1862 to represent Ohio's 19th district. Throughout his congressional service, he firmly supported the gold standard and gained a reputation as a skilled orator. He initially agreed with Radical Republican views on Reconstruction, but later favored a moderate approach to civil rights enforcement for freedmen. Garfield's aptitude for mathematics extended to a notable proof of the Pythagorean theorem, which he published in 1876.
At the 1880 Republican National Convention, delegates chose Garfield, who had not sought the White House, as a compromise presidential nominee on the 36th ballot. In the 1880 presidential election, he conducted a low-key front porch campaign and narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Winfield Scott Hancock. Garfield's accomplishments as president included his resurgence of presidential authority against senatorial courtesy in executive appointments, a purge of corruption in the Post Office, and his appointment of a Supreme Court justice.
A member of the intraparty "Half-Breed" faction, Garfield used the powers of the presidency to defy the powerful "Stalwart" New York senator Roscoe Conkling by appointing Blaine faction leader William H. Robertson to the lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York, triggering a fracas that resulted in Robertson's confirmation and the resignations of Conkling and Thomas C. Platt from the Senate. Garfield advocated agricultural technology, an educated electorate, and civil rights for African Americans. He also proposed substantial civil service reforms, which were passed by Congress in 1883 as the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act and signed into law by his successor, Chester A. Arthur.
On July 2, 1881, Charles J. Guiteau, a disappointed and delusional office seeker, shot Garfield at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington. The wound was not immediately fatal, but he died on September 19, 1881, from infections caused by his doctors.
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Some of their strengths
James Garfield has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Passionate, Intuitive, Strong, Perseverent, Artistic, Kind, and Curious.
Intense and Passionate
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, James Garfield is someone who is an intense, passionate, and intuitive person who is fiercely independent, authentic and direct when engaging with others. A person who is known for being a good communicator.
Strong and Resilient
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know James Garfield well know them as someone who can be strong, expansive, and stable like a big tree.
Methodical and Exacting
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe James Garfield as someone who is careful, methodical, and a perfectionist.
A person who forms successful business partnerships, who appreciates the variety the world has to offer, who takes a frugal approach to life and tends to be a workaholic, and who engages in things that let them express their opinion.
Realistic and Skillful
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, James Garfield is someone who is able to separate emotions from reality, see the world in terms of right or wrong, and who is very good at getting things done.
They are also someone who is balanced, stable, and energetic, who likes the idea of home and family, and who is very comfortable being the person in charge.
Mysterious and Methodical
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, James Garfield tends to be someone who can come across as mysterious and intense, who can be a complex thinker who is methodical and intuitive, and who can overcome challenges that most others would not be able to.
Some of James Garfield's challenges
While James Garfield has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, James Garfield can be Stubborn, Sensitive, Complicated, Brusque, Idle, Difficult, and Perfectionist.
Complicated and Brusque
One of James Garfield's key challenges is that they are someone who can be complicated and gruff with others.
James Garfield must also exercise caution as they can have a hard time reconciling wants and needs.
Sensitive and Critical
James Garfield is someone who can be insecure, critical, and pessimistic, who can have difficulty relaxing, can be possessive and jealous, and who can have difficulty listening to others' opinions and perspectives and make hasty decisions.
Sensitive and Aggressive
Finally, James Garfield also can be too "touchy-feely", have a hard time expressing feelings, be too aggressive and headstrong, and be too unforgiving of others' mistakes.
