James A. Garfield

James A. Garfield, a Civil War general and longtime congressman, won the presidency in 1880 and served only a few months before tragedy struck.

In his brief tenure he moved against corruption in the patronage system and asserted presidential authority over federal appointments. In July 1881 he was shot by Charles Guiteau, a disappointed office-seeker, and died that September after weeks of failing medical care. His death galvanized public support for civil-service reform, realized in the Pendleton Act two years later.

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