 On his return to Ohio , the degree from a prestigious Eastern school made Garfield a man of distinction . He returned to Hiram to teach at the Institute , and in 1857 was made its president . He did not see education as a field in which he could realize his full potential . At Williams , he had become more politically aware in the intensely anti @-@ slavery atmosphere of the Massachusetts school , and began to consider politics as a career . In 1858 , he married Lucretia ; they would have seven children , five of whom survived infancy . Soon after the wedding , he formally entered his name to read law at a Cleveland firm , although he did his studying in Hiram . He was admitted to the bar in 1861 . 
