Senator Cirino Honors Family of President James Garfield

COLUMBUS - State Senator Jerry C. Cirino (R-Kirtland) honored the family of President James Garfield with a Senate resolution. The family was in attendance to watch the passage of House Bill 61, which will establish President James Garfield Day on November 19 to honor the great Ohioan.  

"When you grow up in Ohio, you grow up with history," said Senator Cirino. "I was blessed to be raised right by President Garfield's memorial and now live a couple miles from his Mentor home, where he ran his "front porch" presidential campaign. President Garfield moved our nation forward and left a strong legacy of leadership for all Ohioans to be proud of and emulate."

Born in Cuyahoga County, Garfield was the last of the log cabin presidents. A self-made man, he grew up with humble roots but prioritized his education to rise to the highest office in the land. Garfield served in the Ohio Senate before entering the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. He was promoted to major general following successful campaigns on the battlefield. 

Lincoln urged Garfield to run for Congress in 1862, insisting that's where he was needed most to ensure the nation's future. Garfield became a leading Republican in the U.S. House for 18 years. He was a persistent proponent for civil rights following the Civil War, "especially the passage of the constitutional amendments designed to elevate the status of blacks in American society and under law."  

Garfield earned the nomination for president in 1880 in a surprise vote at the Republican Convention. He ran the nation's first "front porch" presidential campaign from his Mentor farm, where 15,000 to 17,000 Americans traveled to the town of 540 people to hear him speak.

Garfield won and became the nation's 20th president in 1881. He was a crusader against public corruption, making civil service reform a priority of his administration. Garfield also continued his fight for civil rights and emphasized the importance of education in that mission.

Garfield's term was cut short by his assassination by “an embittered attorney who had sought a consular post.”

House Bill 61 now goes to the Governor's desk for his signature.