James A. Garfield
A Civil War general and longtime Ohio congressman, nominated on the 36th ballot as a compromise. He took on Senator Roscoe Conkling over who controlled federal jobs in New York and won, and ordered an investigation of fraud in rural mail contracts. Four months in, he was shot by a disappointed office seeker; his doctors' unsanitary care likely caused the infection that killed him. His death pushed Congress to pass civil service reform.
The economy, first day to last
Shaded areas show the years in office, with a few years before and after for comparison. Budget years ran July to June until 1976 (now October to September), so each year's figures cover parts of two calendar years.
National debt
June 30, 1880 (end of fiscal 1880): $2.12 billion → June 30, 1881 (end of fiscal 1881): $2.07 billion
Daily debt figures don't exist before 1993, so Garfield's numbers use the fiscal years closest to his term, the same rule as every other page.
Debt compared with the economy
Debt as a share of GDP. Above 100% means the debt is bigger than a year of everything the country produces.
Deficits and surpluses
Money borrowed each budget year (below the line) or paid down (above). The White House budget office's yearly figures begin in 1901.
Unemployment
No national estimates before 1890. Economist Stanley Lebergott's yearly estimates, the earliest national series, begin in 1890
Inflation
How much prices rose each year (consumer price index).
Cost of living
What everyday prices and paychecks did while in office.
Prices use the consumer price index (MeasuringWorth). The minimum wage is the federal rate set by Congress.
Executive orders
6 orders. Count from the American Presidency Project. He served 200 days, most of them bedridden.
Orders signed each year
Yearly counts aren't reliable for this era. Orders were not numbered until 1907, when the State Department numbered the ones already in its files, and many orders were never numbered at all, so only the total is shown.
Source: American Presidency Project: executive orders (full list of every order).
Notable orders
Most orders in this era were routine, such as setting aside public land or exempting jobs from civil service rules.
Every executive order we have 2Search, filter by topic or year, and open any order's full text
Incomplete: orders before 1929 were not numbered or collected consistently. This archive has 2 of the roughly 6 orders counted for this president.
- OrderMarch 9, 1881Executive Order—Reservation of Land for Indian Purposes in California
- OrderMay 28, 1881Executive Order
Source: Executive Orders Archive, compiled from the American Presidency Project and the Federal Register. Topics are the archive's automated tags; "Revoked" and similar labels come from the Federal Register's records.
Pardons and commutations
A pardon wipes out the punishment for a federal crime; a commutation shortens a sentence but leaves the conviction. The Justice Department's published counts begin in 1900.
Granted each year
The Justice Department's published clemency counts begin in fiscal 1900, so there are no reliable yearly totals for this presidency.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, clemency statistics, which lists every recipient with the crime and sentence.
Notable grants: tap to see the crime
No individual grants from this presidency are highlighted yet.
Investigations and legal record
The same checklist for every president. Tap a row for details and sources.
ImpeachedNoNo
No articles of impeachment were voted on.
Criminally chargedNoNo
Never charged.
Aides or cabinet convictedNoNo
No member of his cabinet or White House staff was convicted.
Special counselsNoNo
None were appointed during his 200 days.
Misuse of DOJ, FBI or IRSNo findingNo
No official investigation found he used federal agencies against opponents.
People around the president who were charged or penalized
Controversies and scandals
What happened, what was proven, and how it ended.
Crédit MobilierDisputed1867–1873
A House committee found that as a congressman Garfield had received stock and a $329 payment from Crédit Mobilier, a railroad construction company that bribed members of Congress. Garfield said it was a loan he had repaid.
Outcome: The committee took no action against him; two other congressmen were censured.
SourceThe Star Route fraudCharged1881
Garfield ordered an investigation of padded contracts for rural mail routes, even though some of those involved had helped his campaign.
Outcome: The cases were tried under Arthur; the main defendants were acquitted.
SourceIn their own words
Widely quoted remarks, with the context they were said in.
The elevation of the negro race from slavery to the full rights of citizenship is the most important political change we have known since the adoption of the Constitution of 1787.
This brings on the contest at once and will settle the question whether the President is registering clerk of the Senate or the Executive of the United States.