James A. Garfield became the twentieth President of the United States on March 4, 1881.
Republican Senators Resign in Protest of President Garfield's Appointments
At the time of President Garfield's administration the Republican Party was divided into two opposing factions: the Stalwarts lead by Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York, and the Half-Breeds lead by Senator James G. Blaine of Maine. When President Garfield picked his cabinet his choices were mainly Half-Breeds. The Stalwarts objected loudly, and tried to block some of the appointments. On March 23, 1881, President Garfield appointed William Robertson, a major political rival of Senator Conkling, collector of the Port of New York. Conkling and a small number of Stalwart Senators resigned their seats in protest of Robertson's appointment. Conkling also asked voters to show their disapproval of all of the President's appointments by re-electing the protesting Stalwarts to the Senate. Conkling and his supporters failed to regain their seats in the midterm election.
Assassination
On July 2, 1881 President Garfield was in the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington D.C., waiting to board a train that would take him to Massachusetts where he planned to deliver the Commencement address at Williams College, when a man approached the President from behind and yelled, "I'm a Stalwart; now Arthur is President!" before firing two shots. The first bullet entered the President's back, while the second hit his arm. The President was taken to the White House where he lived for two months while doctors tried repeatedly tried to remove the bullet lodged near his spine. On September 6, President Garfield moved to Elberon New Jersey where he hoped the sea air would help his recovery. President James A. Garfield died on September 19, 1881 of an infection caused by unsterile instruments used in the operating procedures. The assassin turned out to be Charles J. Guiteau, a Stalwart who had worked on the Garfield campaign, but who was not directly connected to Roscoe Conkling. Guiteau had become incensed when he failed to receive a diplomatic position for his efforts on the President's campaign. Guiteau's attorney pleaded innocent by way of insanity, but Guiteau was found guilty. He was executed in Washington D.C. on June 30, 1882.
