Skip to main content

Primary sourceSpeech26 February 1879

Sugar Tariff: Speech of James A. Garfield in the House

James A. Garfield · 26 February 1879

Garfield's 1879 speech in the House of Representatives arguing about duties on sugar.

Garfield's own speech as a congressman, showing his legislative work years before his presidency.

Ask James A. Garfield about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Sugar Tariff: Speech of James A. Garfield in the HousePDF · 22 pages
James A. Garfield, Sugar Tariff: Speech delivered in the House of Representatives, 26 February 1879.

About this source

What it is

This is a printed speech by James A. Garfield, delivered in the House of Representatives on February 26, 1879, concerning a bill to regulate duties on sugar.

Why it matters

Before becoming president, Garfield served many years in Congress, and speeches like this show his role in debating economic policy, including tariffs and taxation. It reveals him as a working legislator engaged in the practical details of government, even while unwell, as he notes at the start of the speech.

Look closer

  • Why might Garfield mention his illness at the start of a formal speech?
  • What does a speech about sugar duties tell you about the everyday business of Congress?
  • How might a tariff on sugar affect different groups of people?

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.

More James A. Garfield sources

Meet the AI James A. Garfield →
Speech

Primary source

Inaugural Address of James A. Garfield

James A. Garfield · 4 March 1881

Scanned handwritten page of the enrolled Pendleton Act, headed 'Forty-Seventh Congress of the United States of America, At the Second Session,' with the title 'An Act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States' and the enacting clause below, with blue and red ink annotations at top.Document

Primary source

Pendleton Act

United States Congress · 16 January 1883

Black and white photograph of a bearded man in a dark military-style uniform with double-breasted buttons and a shoulder insignia, seated with one hand resting on his knee against a plain backdrop.Photograph

Primary source

General James Garfield

Mathew Benjamin Brady

Black and white studio portrait of a bearded man with receding hair, wearing a dark suit jacket, white collar and dark bow tie, gazing to the side against a plain gray backdrop.Photograph

Primary source

James Garfield

Brady-Handy Photograph Collection

Photograph of a dark chalkboard-style bulletin board in the New York Gold Room headed 'BLACK FRIDAY', covered with handwritten gold price figures and the words 'Quotations of Gold, September 24, 1869'. Handwritten caption below reads 'This is a Photograph of the Bulletin Board in the Gold Room at N.Y. Sept 24, 1869'.Photograph

Primary source

Black Friday 1869

24 September 1869

Ready when you are

Start chatting with James A. Garfield now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions