President Garfield and the Smithsonian

Inspired by President’s Day, let’s look beyond the presidents who appear on our currency and consider one of our less celebrated presidents and his relationship to the Smithsonian.  President James A. Garfield (1831-1881) held office for just a few short months before his assassination.  Though one of our shortest serving presidents; Garfield had a long career in public service and a long association with the Smithsonian.

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of the International Business Machines Corporation to the Smithsonian Institution, 1962. NPG.65.25

After being selected to serve as a Smithsonian Regent, one of the three regents from the U.S. House of Representatives, Garfield became an active part of the Smithsonian. Garfield was a member of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents for a total of seven terms over twelve years.  First appointed under Joseph Henry, he left the board for a few years before being reappointed as Spencer Baird entered office as Secretary.  As a regent, Garfield was a conscientious attendee at meetings. From his letters and regular attendance, it is clear that Garfield took his duties seriously and became a correspondent and colleague of both our first Secretary Joseph Henry and our second Secretary Spencer F. Baird.

Garfield corresponded with Henry about a variety of subjects related to Smithsonian business, from natural history expeditions to the Smithsonian’s scientific publications.  While their acquaintance may have begun on Smithsonian business, Baird also corresponded with Garfield on other matters important to him as well. Garfield’s position in the U.S. House of Representatives made him a valuable ally when seeking funding for new scientific expeditions or an alteration in U.S. government policy.

Broadside for "The Grand Fete to Garfield and Arthur at the National Museum Building." Smithsonian Institution Archives. Negative Number 75-11115. 

Garfield’s term as regent only came to an end with his swearing in as President on March 4th, 1881. But his regard for the Smithsonian was reflected in these festivities as well.  Though he was leaving the Board of Regents, his inaugural ball was held in the newly constructed U.S. National Museum building, now called the Arts & Industries building.  The first event in this space, the building was not even fully finished – it would take another eight months to open to the public. Yet, perhaps this signifies the importance of the Smithsonian to Garfield. As a regent, he would have been involved in approving and monitoring the building’s construction. The Board of Regents authorized its use with the condition that no precedent would be set for other uses of the building, making a special exception for the new President. Temporary wooden floors had to be constructed and ten thousand bins were built to accommodate the hats, coats, and wraps of the approximately seven thousand visitors that would stream through the front doors on inauguration day.

The rotunda of the new United States National Museum (USNM), now the Arts and Industries Building (A&I), decorated for President James A. Garfield's and Chester A. Arthur's Inaugural Ball, March 4, 1881. Smithsonian Institution Archives. Negative Number MAH-37715A. 

Sadly, Garfield died just seven months after his inauguration. Shot by Charles Guiteau while waiting to board a train on July 2, 1881, neither of the two bullets that hit their mark were initially fatal. One glanced Garfield’s arm, but the other pierced his back and shattered a rib before embedding itself deep inside Garfield.  In agonizing pain, doctor after doctor tried to help the President, but the bullet that eventually killed him could not be found. Alexander Graham Bell even tried a newly-invented metal detector in an attempt to find the bullet.  Bell and Garfield shared a connection to the Smithsonian.  Joseph Henry was a mentor and close friend of Bell, encouraging his research and experiments. As a member of the Board of Regents and fellow correspondent of Henry, it is possible that Garfield made Bell’s acquaintance through their mutual friend Joseph Henry and the Smithsonian Institution.  And Bell followed in Garfield’s footsteps, serving on the Smithsonian Board of Regents from 1898 to 1922.

Lisa Fthenakis, Program Assistant

Smithsonian Institution Archives

A Day in the Life of Secretary Joseph Henry

Letter from Henry to Bache, page one, July 11, 1853
Smithsonian Institution Archives, SIA2012-2670

Have you ever wondered what life was like in 1853? By looking through the letters of the Smithsonian’s first Secretary, Joseph Henry, you will soon find out that politics, business, and the stifling heat are not just headlines that fill today’s news.

This letter, like much of Henry’s correspondence, sheds light on life in the early days of the Smithsonian and the nation’s capital. Written by Henry on July 11, 1853, to his close friend Alexander Bache, a leading American scientist of the time, the letter describes the events of his life and seeks advice from Bache. Across Smithsonian collections, letters like this not only give us factual information, but also aid us in painting a more detailed picture of the people who wrote them. As researchers, this detail allows us to understand why people make certain decisions and highlights the complexities of people’s personalities.

For example, Henry could be viewed as both gruff and amiable in just a few pages. On the one hand, he writes that the then Assistant Secretary, Spencer Baird, needed “a few hard knocks . . . [to] keep him in the proper course.” Yet, throughout the letter Henry gives others compliments and asks about Bache’s family. Personal nuances such as these, found in the documents give us a window to see beyond these individuals as a mere series of facts, but as true people whose personal make-up we can begin to understand.

Joseph Henry, c. 1865,
Smithsonian Institution Archives, 
SIA2012-7654

Though sometimes the handwriting is difficult to read, these letters are worth the eye strain. The stories and commonalities with our lives today that are pulled out of these documents really do make the past come alive. Whether you agree or disagree with everything written in the letters is part of the fun in trying to understand the past...however, I think we can all agree that DC is a hot place to live in the summer.

Courtney Bellizzi
Smithsonian Institution Archives

The Many Jobs of Joseph Henry

Joseph Henry by T. W. Smillie, 1873,
SIA, SIA2009-1254

Joseph Henry, the first Smithsonian Secretary, served on many committees as one of America’s leading scientist during his lifetime. Among some of the more interesting committees Henry served on was a committee tasked with the challenge of preventing the counterfeiting of the national currency in 1863. A problem since the release of coinage and paper money, counterfeiting became even more of an issue for the United States Treasury Department during the Civil War. The commission investigated ways to prevent counterfeiting, and by 1865 was officially appointed the Committee on Prevention of Counterfeiting.

This interesting factoid is just one of the many stories that can be learned on the Smithsonian Institution Archives‘(SIA) new web resource exploring the life, science, and Smithsonian career of the Institution’s first Secretary, Joseph Henry.  One of the main goals of the new Henry pages was to make original collection materials more accessible for our researchers. SIA staff, interns and volunteers scanned and catalogued over 1300 documents, letters, and photographs relating to the first Secretary and the early years of the Institution. The new pages help highlight these wonderful collection materials in a new way. In order to provide researchers with the ability to feel like that they had the documents physically in front of them, we chose to display the letters and documents in a dynamic viewer. The viewers, constructed by the wonderful staff who manage the SIRIS database and Collections Search Center, allow researchers to zoom in and out and move from one page to the next with ease. Additionally, the pages, highlight the various Henry materials in other archives and libraries around the Institution.

So from counterfeiting, to electromagnets and the founding of the Smithsonian, check out all of the great resources that can help you write a paper or look even smarter at your next dinner party.

Courtney Esposito, Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives