Editing James A. Garfield (section)

==Presidency (1881)<span class="anchor" id="Presidency"></span><!-- linked from redirects [[Garfield Administration]], [[Garfield administration]], [[Garfield cabinet]], [[Garfield government]], [[Presidency of James A. Garfield]], [[Presidency of James Garfield]] -->==
{{Infobox administration
| image         = 
| name          = Presidency of James A. Garfield
| term_start    = March 4, 1881
| term_end      = September 19, 1881
| vicepresident = [[Chester A. Arthur]]
| cabinet       = ''[[#Cabinet and inauguration|See list]]''
| party         = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| seat          = [[White House]]
| predecessor   = [[Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes|Rutherford B. Hayes]]
| successor     = [[Presidency of Chester A. Arthur|Chester A. Arthur]]
| seal          = PresidentHayesInvitationCOA.png
| seal_caption  = Presidential coat of arms<br>(1877–1913)
| election      = [[1880 United States presidential election|1880]]}}

{{Infobox U.S. Cabinet
|align=right
|Name=Garfield
|President=James A. Garfield
|President date=1881
|Vice President=[[Chester A. Arthur]]
|Vice President date=1881
|State=[[James G. Blaine]]
|State date=1881
|Treasury=[[William Windom (politician)|William Windom]]
|Treasury date=1881
|War=[[Robert Todd Lincoln]]
|War date=1881
|Justice=[[Wayne MacVeagh]]
|Justice date=1881
|Post=[[Thomas Lemuel James]]
|Post date=1881
|Navy=[[William H. Hunt]]
|Navy date=1881
|Interior=[[Samuel J. Kirkwood]]
|Interior date=1881
}}

===Cabinet and inauguration===
[[File:President Garfield in reviewing stand, viewing inauguration ceremonies, March 4, 1881 LCCN00650941.tif|thumb|200px|President Garfield in reviewing stand, viewing inauguration ceremonies, on March 4, 1881]]
[[File:GARFIELD, James A-President (BEP engraved portrait).jpg|thumb|200px|Line engraving of Garfield, produced around 1902 by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing as part of a presentation album of the first 26 presidents]]
Before his inauguration, Garfield was occupied with assembling a cabinet that might engender peace between the party's Conkling and Blaine factions. Blaine's delegates had provided much of the support for Garfield's nomination, so the Maine senator received the place of honor as Secretary of State.{{sfn|Peskin|1978|pp=519–521}} Blaine was not only the president's closest advisor, but he was also obsessed with knowing all that took place in the White House, and allegedly posted spies there in his absence.{{sfn|Peskin|1978|pp=554–555}} Garfield nominated [[William Windom (politician)|William Windom]] of Minnesota as Secretary of the Treasury, [[William H. Hunt]] of Louisiana as Secretary of the Navy, [[Robert Todd Lincoln]] as Secretary of War, and [[Samuel J. Kirkwood]] of Iowa as Secretary of the Interior. New York was represented by [[Thomas Lemuel James]] as Postmaster General. Garfield appointed Pennsylvania's [[Wayne MacVeagh]], an adversary of Blaine's, as [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]].{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=33–36}} Blaine tried to sabotage the appointment by convincing Garfield to name an opponent of MacVeagh, [[William E. Chandler]], as [[United States Solicitor General|Solicitor General]] under MacVeagh. Only Chandler's rejection by the Senate forestalled MacVeagh's resignation over the matter.{{sfn|Peskin|1978|pp=555–561}}

Because Garfield was distracted by cabinet maneuvering, his inaugural address was a "compendium of platitudes" and fell below expectations.{{sfn|Caldwell|1965|p=330}}{{sfn|Weisberger|2002|p=272}} At one high point, however, Garfield emphasized the civil rights of [[African-Americans]], saying "Freedom can never yield its fullness of blessings so long as the law or its administration places the smallest obstacle in the pathway of any virtuous citizen."{{sfn|Peskin|1978|pp=538–540}} After discussing the gold standard, the need for education, and an unexpected denunciation of [[Mormon polygamy]], the speech ended. The crowd applauded, but the speech, according to Peskin, "however sincerely intended, betrayed its hasty composition by the flatness of its tone and the conventionality of its subject matter."{{sfn|Peskin|1978|p=539}}

Garfield's appointment of James infuriated Conkling, a factional opponent of the Postmaster General, who demanded a compensatory appointment for his faction, such as the position of Secretary of the Treasury. The resulting squabble occupied much of Garfield's brief presidency. The feud with Conkling reached a climax when the president, at Blaine's instigation, nominated Conkling's enemy, Judge [[William H. Robertson]], to be Collector of the Port of New York. This was one of the prize patronage positions below cabinet level and was then held by [[Edwin Atkins Merritt|Edwin A. Merritt]]. Conkling raised the time-honored principle of [[senatorial courtesy]] in an attempt to defeat the nomination, to no avail. Garfield, who believed the practice was corrupt, would not back down and threatened to withdraw all nominations unless Robertson was confirmed, intending to "settle the question whether the president is registering clerk of the Senate or the Executive of the United States."{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|p=38}} Ultimately, Conkling and his New York colleague, Senator [[Thomas C. Platt]], resigned their Senate seats to seek vindication but found only further humiliation when the New York legislature elected others in their places. Robertson was confirmed as Collector and Garfield's victory was clear. To Blaine's chagrin, the victorious Garfield returned to his goal of balancing the interests of party factions and nominated a number of Conkling's Stalwart friends to offices.{{sfn|Peskin|1978|p=273}}

With his cabinet complete, Garfield had to contend with myriad office seekers. He exclaimed, "My God! What is there in this place that a man should ever get into it." Garfield's family happily settled into the White House, but he found presidential duties exasperating.{{sfn|Weisberger|2002|p=272}}

===Refinance of national debt===
Garfield ordered Treasury Secretary William Windom to refund (''refinance'') the national debt by calling in outstanding U.S. bonds paying 6% interest. Holders would have the option of accepting cash or new bonds at 3%, closer to the interest rates of the time. Taxpayers were saved an estimated $10 million. By comparison, federal expenditures in 1881 were below $261 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=261000000|start_year=1881}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).{{sfn|Weisberger|2002|p=273}}<ref>[[#The Magazine of American History|The Magazine of American History (1891)]], p. 261</ref>

===Supreme Court nomination===
In 1880, President Hayes had nominated [[Stanley Matthews (judge)|Stanley Matthews]] to the Supreme Court but the Senate declined to act on the nomination. In March 1881, Garfield re-nominated Matthews to the Court and the Senate confirmed Matthews by a vote of 24–23.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-american-interest.com/2016/02/15/the-court-controversy-not-unprecedented/|title=The Court Controversy: Not Unprecedented|date=February 15, 2016|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201193923/https://www.the-american-interest.com/2016/02/15/the-court-controversy-not-unprecedented/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''The New York Times'', "opposition to Matthews's Supreme Court appointment{{spaces}}... stemmed from his prosecution in 1859 of a newspaper editor who had assisted two runaway slaves." Because Matthews was "a professed abolitionist at the time, the matter was later framed as political expediency triumphing over moral principle."<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0611.html|title=On this day: June 11, 1881|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=December 26, 2021|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802003536/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0611.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Matthews served on the Court until his death in 1889.<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

===Reforms===
{{Main|Star Route scandal}}
[[File:Left Puck.jpg|thumb|200px|alt=A cartoon. Garfield, in night clothes and slippers, is on the doorstep looking at an ugly crying baby in a basket on the ground.|An 1881 ''[[Puck (magazine)|Puck]]'' cartoon shows Garfield finding a baby at his front door with a tag marked "Civil Service Reform, compliments of [[Rutherford B. Hayes|R.B. Hayes]]". Hayes, his predecessor in the presidency, is seen in the background dressed like a woman and holding a bag marked "R.B. Hayes' Savings, [[Fremont, Ohio]]".]]
Grant and Hayes had both advocated civil service reform, and by 1881 such reform associations had organized with renewed energy across the nation. Garfield sympathized with them, believing the [[spoils system]] damaged the presidency and often eclipsed more important concerns.{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=39–41}} Some reformers became disappointed when Garfield promoted limited tenure only to minor office seekers and gave appointments to his old friends.{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=39–41}}

Corruption in the post office also cried out for reform. In April 1880, there had been a congressional investigation of corruption in the [[United States Post Office Department|Post Office Department]], where profiteering rings allegedly stole millions of dollars, securing bogus mail contracts on [[star routes]].{{sfn|Peskin|1978|p=578}} After obtaining contracts with the lowest bid, costs to run the mail routes would be escalated and profits would be divided among ring members. Shortly after taking office, Garfield received word of postal corruption by an alleged star route ringleader, Assistant Postmaster General [[Thomas J. Brady]].{{sfn|Peskin|1978|p=580}} Garfield demanded Brady's resignation and ordered prosecutions that ended in trials for conspiracy. When told that his party, including his campaign manager, [[Stephen W. Dorsey]], was involved, Garfield directed that the corruption in the Post Office be rooted out "to the bone", regardless of where it might lead.{{sfn|Peskin|1978|p=578}} Brady resigned and was indicted for conspiracy, though jury trials in 1882 and 1883 found Brady not guilty.{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=94–95}}

===Civil rights and education===
[[File:Jgarfield.jpeg|thumb|200px|alt=Formal seated portrait in oils|Official White House portrait of James Garfield, 1881]]
Garfield believed the key to improving the state of African American civil rights was government supported education.{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|p=48}} During Reconstruction, [[freedman|freedmen]] had gained citizenship and suffrage, which enabled them to participate in government, but Garfield believed their rights were being eroded by Southern white resistance and illiteracy, and he was concerned that blacks would become America's permanent "[[peasantry]]".{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=48–49}} He proposed a "universal" education system funded by the federal government. In February 1866, as a congressman from Ohio, Garfield and Ohio School Commissioner Emerson Edward White had drafted a bill for the National Department of Education. They believed that through the use of statistics they could push the US Congress to establish a federal agency for school reform.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Steudeman|first=Michael J.|date=May 2018|title=From Civic Imperative to Bird's-Eye View: Renegotiating the Idioms of Education Governance during the Reconstruction Era|journal=History of Education Quarterly|language=en|volume=58|issue=2|pages=199–228|doi=10.1017/heq.2018.3|issn=0018-2680|doi-access=free}}</ref> But by the time of Garfield's presidency, Congress and the northern white public had lost interest in African-American rights, and Congress did not pass federal funding for universal education during his term.{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=48–49}} Garfield also worked to appoint several African Americans to prominent positions: [[Frederick Douglass]], recorder of deeds in Washington; [[Robert B. Elliott|Robert Elliot]], special agent to the Treasury; [[John M. Langston]], [[Haiti]]an minister; and [[Blanche Bruce|Blanche K. Bruce]], register to the Treasury. Garfield believed Southern support for the Republican Party could be gained by "commercial and industrial" interests rather than race issues and began to reverse Hayes's policy of conciliating Southern Democrats.{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=49–50}} He appointed [[William H. Hunt]], a Republican from Louisiana, as Secretary of the Navy.{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=49–50}} To break the hold of the resurgent Democratic Party in the Solid South, Garfield took patronage advice from Virginia Senator [[William Mahone]] of the biracial independent [[Readjuster Party]], hoping to add the independents' strength to the Republicans' there.{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=50–53}}

===Foreign policy and naval reform===
{{Further|History of U.S. foreign policy, 1861–1897}}
[[Image:James G. Blaine - Brady-Handy.jpg|thumb |upright|left|[[James G. Blaine]], Garfield's Secretary of State]]
Garfield had little foreign policy experience, so he leaned heavily on Blaine.<ref>David M. Pletcher, ''The Awkward Years: American Foreign Relations under Garfield and Arthur'' (U of Missouri Press, 1962).</ref> They agreed on the need to promote freer trade, especially within the [[Western Hemisphere]].{{sfn|Crapol|2000|pp=62–64}} Garfield and Blaine believed increasing trade with [[Latin America]] would be the best way to keep the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] from dominating the region.{{sfn|Crapol|2000|pp=62–64}} And by encouraging exports, they believed they could increase American prosperity.{{sfn|Crapol|2000|pp=62–64}} Garfield authorized Blaine to call for a Pan-American conference in 1882 to mediate disputes among the Latin American nations and to serve as a forum for talks on increasing trade.{{sfnm|Crapol|2000|1pp=65–66|Doenecke|1981|2pp=55–57}}

At the same time, they hoped to negotiate a peace in the [[War of the Pacific]] then being fought by [[Bolivia]], [[Chile]], and [[Peru]].{{sfnm|Crapol|2000|1pp=65–66|Doenecke|1981|2pp=55–57}} Blaine favored a resolution that would result in Peru yielding no territory, but Chile by 1881 had occupied the Peruvian capital of [[Lima]], and rejected any settlement that restored the previous ''status quo''.{{sfnm|Crapol|2000|1p=70|Doenecke|1981|2pp=57–58}}

Garfield sought to expand American influence in other areas, calling for renegotiation of the [[Clayton–Bulwer Treaty]] to allow the United States to construct [[Panama Canal|a canal through Panama]] without British involvement and attempting to reduce British influence in the strategically located [[Kingdom of Hawaii]].{{sfnm|Crapol|2000|1pp=74–80|Peskin|1978|2pp=576–577}} Garfield's and Blaine's plans for the United States' involvement in the world stretched even beyond the Western Hemisphere, as he sought commercial treaties with [[Joseon Dynasty|Korea]] and [[Merina Kingdom|Madagascar]].{{sfnm|Crapol|2000|1p=81|Doenecke|1981|2pp=71–73}} Garfield also considered enhancing U.S. military strength abroad, asking Navy Secretary Hunt to investigate the navy's condition with an eye toward expansion and modernization.{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=145–147}} In the end, these ambitious plans came to nothing after Garfield was assassinated. Nine countries had accepted invitations to the Pan-American conference, but the invitations were withdrawn in April 1882 after Blaine resigned from the cabinet and Arthur, Garfield's successor, cancelled the conference.{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=130–131}}{{efn|In October 1883, the War of the Pacific was settled without American involvement, with the [[Treaty of Ancón]].}} Naval reform continued under Arthur, on a more modest scale than Garfield and Hunt had envisioned, ultimately ending in the construction of the [[Squadron of Evolution]].{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=148–149}}