# James A. Garfield: The Unlikely Rise and Tragic Assassination of a President — WHE Definition Discussion (1-29323)

**URL:** <https://community.worldhistory.org/t/james-a-garfield-the-unlikely-rise-and-tragic-assassination-of-a-president-whe-definition-discussion-1-29323/19243>\
**Category:** WHE Articles\
**Created:** [November 10, 2026, 5:00pm UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/james-a-garfield-the-unlikely-rise-and-tragic-assassination-of-a-president-whe-definition-discussion-1-29323/19243 "2026-11-10T17:00:11Z")\
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**Author:** ![harrisonwmark](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/harrisonwmark/32/186_2.png) [@harrisonwmark](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/harrisonwmark)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 5:00pm UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/james-a-garfield-the-unlikely-rise-and-tragic-assassination-of-a-president-whe-definition-discussion-1-29323/19243/1 "2026-11-10T17:00:11Z")

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James A. Garfield (1831-1881) was an American politician from Ohio who served as the 20th president of the United States from 4 March 1881 until his death the following 19 September. A popular, hard-working man, he was driven by his abolitionist beliefs to join the Republican Party in the mid-1850s. He fought for the Union during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and, after winning election to Congress, played a pivotal role in Reconstruction. He was unexpectedly elevated to the presidency in 1881, but his tenure was cut short when he was assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau, a disillusioned office-seeker.

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_This is a companion discussion topic for the original definition at [https://www.worldhistory.org/James\_A.\_Garfield/](https://www.worldhistory.org/James_A._Garfield/)._

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**Author:** ![system](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/system/32/30_2.png) [@system](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/james-a-garfield-the-unlikely-rise-and-tragic-assassination-of-a-president-whe-definition-discussion-1-29323/19243/2 "2026-11-10T17:49:34Z")

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Unlisted on November 10, 2026, 5:49pm UTC