Hi everybody. Today! Bye, mommy. It's Garfield. James Garfield. Before we learn about James Garfield, I wanted to give a warning about the content of this episode. The end of President Garfield's life was violent and tragic, and some parents may not find the details suitable for our

youngest listeners. But what happened to President Garfield in his final weeks is absolutely fascinating,

so we didn't think it would be a good idea to exclude it. I hope you enjoy hearing the story of

President Garfield. Thank you, Noah, for introducing James Garfield, the 20th President of the United States.

James Garfield was our third consecutive Republican president from the state of Ohio.

Before becoming president, he served in the Senate before fighting for the Union during the Civil War.

While serving in war, he was so popular that he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives

without campaigning at all. He was a representative for 17 years, during which he established the ROTC, which is the Reserve Office Training Corps.

While in Congress, he was appointed to the 15-member commission that was given the task of determining the winner in the election of 1876 that resulted in the election of

President Rutherford B. Hayes. James Garfield ran for the Republican Party in the election

of 1880. He won the popular vote by less than 10,000 votes out of nearly 9 million total votes cast.

The electoral vote count was a little more lopsided, with Garfield winning by a margin of 214 to 155.

As president, one of Garfield's major goals was to continue the work of Rutherford B. Hayes on civil service reform to make sure that any government office holders were selected

based on merit and not based on friendships and alliances.

Unfortunately, President Garfield would not live long enough to see civil service reform achieved two years later. Garfield managed to avoid tragedy throughout his life. As a child, he survived malaria

at a time when most people did not.

He made it through the Civil War unscathed.

His luck would run out just six months into his presidency

when Charles Gatot gunned him down at a train station in Washington, D.C.

Charles Gatot was angry because he wanted a government job and he was turned down.

After being shot several times, President Garfield was taken back to the White House for treatment.

He was treated by Dr. Bliss, who treated soldiers with gunshot wounds during the Civil War.

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