President for 200 Days: James A. Garfield

Looking for great YouTube video clips, books, recipes and free worksheets and lapbooks for teaching and/or learning about President James A. Garfield? Here you will find my favorite picks we used while studying the individual Presidents of the United States. This is part of a series of lessons I posted on individual Presidents. You can find links to all the lessons at President's Day Unit Study .

Presidential Term: 1881

Political Party: Republican

Vice President: Chester A. Arthur

Birthplace: Ohio

Occupation: Teacher & Government Official

Yearly Salary as President: $50,000

Height: 6'0"

First Lady: Lucretia Rudolph Garfield

After serving 9 consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, Garfield was nominated for president. When Garfield was elected president November 2, he was a member of the House, Senator-elect & President-elect all at the same time.

We found these to be helpful when creating a presidential notebook and lapbook and for adding in a fun cooking activity. I love anything that is both edible and educational!

James A. Garfield for Teachers offers links to free worksheets, book suggestions, general information and trivia, interactive computer games, and more related to President Garfield.

Garfield's Favorite Tart Apple Pie Recipe provides a recipe for one of James A. Garfield's favorite desserts, Tart Apple Pie, and also includes a a description of some of his other favorite dishes.

Presidential Statistics and Points of Interest includes an overview of James A. Garfield's life and some fun points of interest.

1881

Barnum & Bailey Circus debut
Billy the Kid escaped from New Mexico jail
Garfield opposes "Star Postal Route" Ring Fraud
Clara Barton created the Red Cross
Garfield shot by Charles J. Guiteau
Booker T. Washington established the Tuskegee Institute
Chief Sitting Bull of the Sioux surrendered to federal troops
President Garfield died from blood poisoning

James A. Garfield was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate even over Ulysses S. Grant, who was making his a 3rd term bid for the nomination.

Garfield began his presidency by encouraging civil service reform and trying to do away with the spoils system. He also sought to cripple the Post Office Department's "star route" rings.

Garfield issued numerous executive appointments, including made one appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court and four federal court appointments. Seeking to advance civil rights for civil rights for African-Americans, Garfield appointed some African-Americans to prominent federal positions including Blanche Kelso Bruce who was appointed as the Register of the Treasury.

On July 2, 1881, James A. Garfield was shot twice by Charles J. Guiteau in an assassination attempt. Garfield lived for 80 more days. Some historians blame the doctors for his death as they probed him with unsterilized fingers and instruments in numerous attempts to remove the bullets. Alexander Graham Bell invented a metal detector for the doctors to use to locate the bullet, though it was unsuccessful. To help Garfield through the warm summer, Simon Newcomb invented what some claim to be the first air conditioner as it blew air over a large chest of ice and then getting dried by screens. James A. Garfield died on September 19, 1881.

When searching out YouTube video clips that provided helpful information about his presidency and were completely child-friendly, these were our favorites.

• President's Day Unit Study - I posted links to each of my lessons on individual Presidents here. In each lesson I included fun worksheets, children's books, YouTube clips, timelines, and recipe ideas. On this page I also included our favorite books and YouTube video clips that cover all of the Presidents of the United States.
• Fun, FREE Hands-On Unit Studies - I have posted my links to over 35 hands-on unit studies (compromised of over 170 lessons) that focus primarily on science and social studies. In each lesson plan I have listed the activities that we did (and included photos), the books we read, YouTube video clips that we watched, and lapbook links that pair with the lesson.