1880 Republican National Convention - Aftermath

Aftermath

Garfield led the first front porch campaign for the Presidency. He did not travel that much, and he usually stayed at home to present his presidential agenda to visitors. Garfield enlisted the support of the other candidates from the convention to help with the campaign. The 1880 Democratic National Convention chose Winfield Scott Hancock as the presidential candidate and William Hayden English as his vice-presidential running mate. The election featured a very close popular vote, that put Garfield out with a majority of less than ten thousand votes, with some sources putting it as low as 2,000 votes. However, Garfield won the election with 214 of the 369 electoral votes in the country.

On July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot by a former Chicago lawyer named Charles J. Guiteau at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. Guiteau was a staunch supporter of the Stalwarts, and he even gave speeches in New York to rally Grant supporters. After Garfield was elected president, Guiteau repeatedly tried to contact the president and his Secretary of State James G. Blaine in hopes of receiving the consulship in Paris. After finally being told by Blaine that he would not get the position, Guiteau decided to seek revenge on Garfield. He planned Garfield's assassination for weeks. After shooting Garfield, he proclaimed "I am a Stalwart and Arthur will be President." Garfield died on September 19, more than two and a half months after the shooting. After a lengthy trial, Guiteau was sentenced to death, and he was hanged on June 30, 1882.