The Bard and the President

Period cover of Tales from Shakespeare

Library of Congress Image

In addition to being a president, congressman, lawyer, general, preacher, professor, and husband, James A. Garfield was a father. The physical and intellectual development of his children were more important to him than anything he did in his public or professional life. Garfield intentionally chose this farm in Mentor because he wanted to give his sons the
opportunity to experience farm work. Having been raised without a father himself, he placed an added emphasis on being a guiding force in the lives of his sons and his daughter. Though devastated by the untimely loss of his first daughter Eliza Arabella (Little Trot) and his last son, Edward (Neddie), Garfield was keenly aware of the importance of fatherhood and family life and made it a point to read to the children often. He frequently chose to read the works of one of his favorite authors, William Shakespeare. On Sunday, December 27, 1874, he recorded in his diary: “I read to the children from Charles Lamb’s Shakespeare’s Tales, the story of The Midsummer Night’s Dream.The children understood it and were delighted with it. I believe in this way I can give them a hint of what is contained in Shakespeare and create a taste, for the great Dramatist.”

Garfield’s diary contains dozens of passages that mention reading to the children, and many of those refer to Shakespeare and his personal desire to inspire his children to share
in his love for The Bard. This month, as we honor one of our favorite dads at James A. Garfield National Historic Site, we also remember his favorite author. June 29, 2019 at 7:00 pm the site will be hosting the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival for its tenth year in a row, with a performance of “Henry V” right on the lawn behind the Garfield home! Come and
experience for yourself why Garfield thought it necessary to instill in his own children an appreciation for Shakespeare and his great works.