Historedia
AmericasEvent

James A. Garfield is sworn in as 20th president of the United States

When
1881
Where
East Portico of the United States Capitol
Episodes
1

James A. Garfield was inaugurated as the 20th president on March 4, 1881, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. He had been elected in 1880 as a compromise nominee, defeating Hancock. His term began with a Senate appointment scheduled for March 4, 1881, following his election by the Ohio General Assembly in January 1880.

Episodes

  1. March 4, 1881 · East Portico of the United States CapitolInauguration Ceremony

    Garfield was inaugurated as the 20th president on March 4, 1881, at the East Portico of the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Background and detail

Background. Garfield, a former preacher, lawyer, and Civil War general, served nine terms in the House. He was the only sitting House member elected president. At the 1880 Republican Convention, delegates chose him as a compromise nominee on the 36th ballot. He conducted a front porch campaign, narrowly defeating Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock.

Transition to Office. The Ohio General Assembly elected Garfield to the Senate in January 1880, with his term scheduled to begin March 4, 1881. However, he was inaugurated as president on that date. He left his home in Mentor, Ohio, for Washington, D.C., on February 28, 1881, ahead of the ceremony.

People involved

Sources

  1. Inauguration of James A. Garfield Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-07
  2. James A. Garfield Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-06

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.