The 20th President
"Garfield argued that the nation’s financial ailments, the soaring prices of the Civil War especially, stemmed from the federal government’s monetary mischief."
No fewer than 14 museums greet tourists who travel the Montana Dinosaur Trail, including the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman and the Fort Peck Interpretive Center in—you guessed it—Fort Peck.
Among the other twelve is one in a county that takes its name from a 19th-century American president who stands out as a political dinosaur by today’s standards. He was a man of integrity, an eloquent orator, a principled defender of balanced budgets and sound money, a fervent civil rights advocate, and a competent military figure and administrator. On top of that, he did not lust for the office. How refreshing is that?!
James A. Garfield was the man. Garfield County in east central Montana is the county, and the Garfield County Museum in the small town of Jordan is where you can view the skull of a tyrannosaurus, among other Jurassic Park-like relics.
Born in Ohio in 1831, Garfield rose to brigadier general in the Union Army by 1862, the year he simultaneously won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served nine terms (18 years) in Congress.
In 1872, at the request of President Ulysses S. Grant, Congressman Garfield traveled to the Montana Territory on his first diplomatic mission. Grant wanted him to meet with the leaders of the Flathead Indians and convince them to move from the Bitterroots to Jocko Valley, about a hundred miles north.
“This was the first time he had been beyond the Mississippi,” wrote Garfield biographer Allan Peskin, “and he enjoyed every minute of it.” The mission succeeded, which pleased President Grant immensely.
Garfield was one of the most capable and learned men Ohio ever sent to Washington. In addition to his distinguished political and military service, he was an instructor in classical languages, a college president, and a voracious reader. His books filled every room in his home.
His celebrated two-hour “Currency Speech” before the House on May 15, 1868, remains one of the best orations on the subject ever delivered in Congress. He explained in detail that every financial panic in the United States and Britain since 1819 was preceded by a “reckless” expansion of money and credit. A gold standard would end such calamities, he urged.
Garfield argued that the nation’s financial ailments, the soaring prices of the Civil War especially, stemmed from the federal government’s monetary mischief. The antidote was not more of the unbacked paper notes that brought on those ailments in the first place. He concluded his speech with these words:
It is my firm conviction that any considerable increase in the volume of our inconvertible paper money will shatter public credit, will paralyze industry, and oppress the poor; and that the gradual restoration of our ancient standard of value will lead us, by the safest and surest path, to national prosperity and the steady pursuit of peace.
When the 1880 election season rolled around, Garfield was a 48-year-old congressman looking forward to taking office as a U.S. Senator. The Ohio legislature had chosen him for a Senate term to begin in 1881. He showed up at the Republican National Convention in June 1880 to nominate another man to be the party’s presidential candidate.
In a column for the Frontier Institute a few months ago, I wrote about the remarkable turn of events that followed. Garfield never sought the nomination for himself, but despite his protestations, he was nominated on the 36th ballot. He won the election easily in November and became our 20th President.
Sadly, an assassin shot Garfield on July 2, just 200 days into his term. He died on September 19, the victim of a crazed man who did lust for public office and was angry that the president hadn’t offered him one.
James A. Garfield was a good man who likely would have gone down in history as a great president had he lived. Garfield County can be very proud of its name.
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Lawrence W. Reed writes a monthly column for the Frontier Institute in Helena, on whose board he serves. He is president emeritus of the Foundation for Economic Education and blogs at www.lawrencewreed.com.