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JAMES  GARFIELD
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A RARE GARFIELD PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENT, APPROVING A TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA THAT SEVERLY LIMITED CHINESE IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES AND BANNED THE OPIUM TRADE

JAMES GARFIELD (1831-1881). Garfield was the Twentieth President. Garfield was President of Hiram College, then a Union general during the Civil War, and then was elected to the House. He was elected President in 1880 but shot on July 2, 1881 by Charles Guiteau. He died a few months later of the United States, allowing Chester Arthur to become President.

DS. 1pg. 8” x 10”. May 9, 1881. Washington. A rare Presidential document signed James. A. Garfield as President. The partly-printed manuscript states “I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of State to cause the Seal of the United States to be affixed to my ratification of a supplemental treaty bet. the U.S. and China, relative to commercial intercourse and judicial procedure – signed at Peking Nov. 17. 1880 – dated this day, and signed by me, and for so doing this shall be his warrant.” One unusual aspect of this document is the approval of an American treaty with China. On November 17, 1880, the United States and China agreed to a treaty that gave the United States the ability to “regulate, limit or suspend” Chinese immigration, but not completely prohibit it. They two countries also agreed to ban the opium trade and granted China some trading ability with the United States. President Hayes was no longer in office when the treaty was approved, so his successor, President Garfield, signed it. In 1882, certain West Coast organizations, such as the Knights of Labor, pressured the government to ban all Chinese immigration for twenty years. President Arthur vetoed that measure, but when Congress revised it to a ten year Chinese immigration ban, Arthur approved that measure. The document, printed on blue paper, has two mailing folds and some light staining. Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau on July 2, 1881, meaning he was an effective President for just four months; this makes his Presidential autographs quite rare.