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Primary sourceSpeech4 March 1881

Inaugural Address of James A. Garfield

James A. Garfield · 4 March 1881

Garfield's only major presidential address, delivered on his inauguration day, calling for Black civil rights, education, and civil service reform.

This is Garfield's own inaugural address as president, his major public statement of his goals in office.

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About this source

What it is

This is the text of the speech James A. Garfield gave on 4 March 1881 when he became president of the United States. It is held today in the Library of Congress among his papers.

Why it matters

Because Garfield was assassinated only months into his term, this speech became his main statement as president. In it he pushed for Black civil rights, universal education, and reform of how government jobs were given out — issues that remained unresolved after the Civil War and that would shape the rest of his short presidency.

Look closer

  • Why might a new president choose to look back over a century of history at the start of his speech?
  • What does his focus on civil rights and education tell you about the problems he thought the country still faced?
  • What is left unsaid about how these goals would actually be achieved?

This speech is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of James A. Garfield on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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