James Abram Garfield was born in a log
cabin near Orange, Ohio, on November
19, 1831. He grew up on his family’s
farm. Garfield graduated fromWilliams
College in Massachusetts in 1856. In
1858 Garfield married Lucretia
Rudolph. They had seven children.
Military and Political Career
After studying law and becoming a minister,
Garfield turned to politics. He
joined the Republican Party and was
elected to the Ohio legislature in 1859.
When the American CivilWar started in
1861, Garfield fought in several battles
for the North. In 1862 Ohio elected
Garfield to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Serving until 1880, Garfield
supported strict policies toward the
defeated South. In 1880 the Ohio legislature
elected him to the U.S. Senate.
That year Republicans chose Garfield to
run for president. He defeated General
Winfield Scott Hancock, another Civil
War veteran.
Presidency
President Garfield soon angered the
conservative Republicans known as the
Stalwarts. The leader of the Stalwarts,
Senator Roscoe Conkling, gave out gov-
James A. Garfield
Tulips became
so popular in
Europe in the
1600s that the
price of some
bulbs rose to
thousands of
dollars each.
88 Garfield, James A. BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
ernment jobs as rewards. Garfield
wanted more control over that process.
When he gave a job to one of Conkling’s
enemies, Conkling resigned from
the Senate. Garfield’s actions strengthened
the power of the presidency.
A Stalwart supporter, Charles J. Guiteau,
became angry when Garfield
refused to give him a job. On July 2,
1881, Guiteau shot Garfield in the back
at a railroad station inWashington,
D.C. The president lay ill for 80 days
before dying on September 19, 1881, in
New Jersey. Vice President Chester A.
Arthur became president the next day.
#More to explore
American CivilWar • Arthur, Chester A.
• United States
Gargoyle
Gargoyles are waterspouts set high on a
building that direct rainwater away from
the building’s walls. Most gargoyles are
carved from a block of solid stone. They
are made to look like animals, monsters,
laughing or scowling humans, dragons,
or demons. A channel, or groove, cut
along the top of the statue directs rainwater
away from the building through
November 19, May July 2, September 19,
1831 1861–63 1862 1880 1881 1881 1881
Garfield is
born near
Orange, Ohio.
Garfield fights
for the North in
the American
Civil War.
Garfield is
elected to the
U.S. House of
Representatives.
Garfield is
elected
president.
Senator
Roscoe
Conkling
resigns.
Garfield is shot
in the back.
Garfield dies.
T I M E L I N E
Gargoyles sit on top of Notre Dame Cathedral
in Paris, France.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Gargoyle 89
the gargoyle’s open mouth and onto the
streets below. Today people often call
any stone carving of a strange creature a
gargoyle. However, if such carvings are
not waterspouts they are not technically
gargoyles.
Gargoyles have been used for more than
2,000 years. They were most popular in
parts of Europe during the later Middle
Ages, from about AD 1000 to 1500.
During that time the largest and most
important building in any town was the
church or cathedral. Those buildings
were costly to build. Rainwater running
down the walls would eventually ruin
the building. Therefore, workers carved
decorative statues to act as waterspouts.
At the end of the Middle Ages people
began using lead drainpipes, so true
gargoyles became less common.
#More to explore
Cathedral • Middle Ages
Garlic
Garlic is a plant that is closely related to
the onion. Its bulbs are a very popular
cooking ingredient. The garlic plant
belongs to the lily family. Its scientific
name is Allium sativum.
Garlic first grew in central Asia. Today it
also grows wild in Italy and southern
France. In the United States garlic is
grown mostly in California.
There are dozens of varieties of the garlic
plant. The top of the stalk usually produces
flowers and bulblets, or tiny bulbs.
The useful garlic bulbs are in the soil.
Each bulb contains up to 20 sections,
called cloves. The cloves are covered by a
thin, papery skin. The garlic plant does
not produce seeds. New plants grow
from planted bulblets or cloves.
Garlic has a powerful, onionlike smell
and a strong taste. Peeled cloves may be
chopped up or crushed to flavor sauces,
stews, and salad dressings. Since ancient
times garlic has also been used in medicine.
In addition, people once carried
garlic as a charm to keep away vampires
and other supposed evils.
#More to explore
Lily • Onion
Garvey, Marcus
Marcus Garvey was a black leader of the
early 1900s. He encouraged blacks to be
proud of their African heritage. His goal
was to start a new black country in
Carvings of
strange creatures
that are
not waterspouts
are
called grotesques,
not
gargoyles.
The useful part of a garlic plant
is the bulb that grows underground.
90 Garlic BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Africa. Garvey had so many followers
that he was known as the Black Moses.
Marcus Moziah Garvey was born on
August 17, 1887, in Saint Ann’s Bay,
Jamaica. As a young man he worked to
improve conditions for black workers in
Jamaica and elsewhere. In 1912 he
moved to London, England. There he
