[161] Hancock made the situation worse when, attempting to strike a moderate stance, he said, "The tariff question is a local question."[160] The Republican ploy proved effective in uniting the North behind Garfield.[162] Ultimately, of the more than 9.2 million popular votes cast, fewer than 2,000 separated the two candidates.[163] But in the Electoral College, Garfield had an easy victory over Hancock, 214 to 155.[164] The election made Garfield the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected to the presidency.[165]

Presidency (1881)[edit]
The Garfield cabinetOfficeNameTermPresidentJames A. Garfield1881Vice PresidentChester A. Arthur1881Secretary of StateJames G. Blaine1881Secretary of the TreasuryWilliam Windom1881Secretary of WarRobert Todd Lincoln1881Attorney GeneralWayne MacVeagh1881Postmaster GeneralThomas Lemuel James1881Secretary of the NavyWilliam H. Hunt1881Secretary of the InteriorSamuel J. Kirkwood1881
Cabinet and inauguration[edit]
President Garfield in reviewing stand, viewing inauguration ceremonies, on March 4, 1881
Line engraving of Garfield, produced around 1902 by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing as part of a presentation album of the first 26 presidents
Before his inauguration, Garfield was occupied with assembling a cabinet that might engender peace between the party's Conkling and Blaine factions. 