James Abram Garfield was born on November 19, 1831 in Cuyahoga County in Ohio. Garfield attended college at the Western Reserve Electric institute he later enrolled at Williams College in Massachusetts. After he graduated in 1856 he returned to the institute at Hiram and became a teacher, he later on became principal. In addition to teaching he was a lay speaker at a church. Like many members of his church Garfield was a free soiler (free soilers were opposed to expansion of slavery in the western states.) With his natural speaking ability Garfield found himself in the political realm. In 1859 he was elected into the Ohio state senate. With the civil war approaching Garfield used his speaking abilities to persuade men to enlist and raise troops