Reproduction of the original: From Canal Boy to President by Horatio Alger

CHAPTER I. THE FIRST PAIR OF SHOES. CHAPTER II. GROWING IN WISDOM AND STATURE. CHAPTER III. IN QUEST OF FORTUNE. CHAPTER IV. ON THE TOW-PATH. CHAPTER V. AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION. CHAPTER VI. JAMES LEAVES THE CANAL. CHAPTER VII. THE CHOICE OF A VOCATION CHAPTER VIII. GEAUGA SEMINARY. CHAPTER IX. WAYS AND MEANS. CHAPTER X. A COUSIN'S REMINISCENCES. CHAPTER XI. LEDGE HILL SCHOOL CHAPTER XII. WHO SHALL BE MASTER? CHAPTER XIII. AMES LEAVES GEAUGA SEMINARY CHAPTER XIV. AT HIRAM INSTITUTE. CHAPTER XV. THREE BUSY YEARS. CHAPTER XVI. ENTERING WILLIAMS COLLEGE. CHAPTER XVII. LIFE IN COLLEGE. CHAPTER XVIII. THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT. CHAPTER XIX. GARFIELD AS A COLLEGE PRESIDENT. CHAPTER XX. GARFIELD BECOMES A STATE SENATOR. CHAPTER XXI. A DIFFICULT DUTY. CHAPTER XXII. JOHN JORDAN'S DANGEROUS JOURNEY. CHAPTER XXIII. GARFIELD'S BOLD STRATEGY. CHAPTER XXIV. THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK. CHAPTER XXV. THE PERILOUS TRIP UP THE BIG SANDY. CHAPTER XXVI. THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A CONGRESSMAN. CHAPTER XXVII. GARFIELD'S COURSE IN CONGRESS. CHAPTER XXVIII. THE MAN FOR THE HOUR. CHAPTER XXIX. GARFIELD AS A LAWYER. CHAPTER XXX. THE SCHOLAR IN POLITICS. CHAPTER XXXI. THE TRIBUTES OF FRIENDS. CHAPTER XXXII. FROM CANAL-BOY TO PRESIDENT. CHAPTER XXXIII. THE NEW ADMINISTRATION. CHAPTER XXXIV. THE TRAGIC END. CHAPTER XXXV. MR. DEPEW'S ESTIMATE OF GARFIELD. CHAPTER XXXVI. THE LESSONS OF HIS LIFE.

From Canal Boy to President; or, The Boyhood and Manhood of James A. Garfield Horatio Alger, Jr. (January 13, 1832 – July 18, 1899) was a prolific 19th-century American author, best known for his many juvenile novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of middle-class security and comfort through hard work, determination, courage, and honesty. His writings were characterized by the "rags-to-riches" narrative, which had a formative effect on America during the Gilded Age. Alger's name is often invoked incorrectly as though he himself rose from rags to riches, but that arc applied to his characters, not to the author. Essentially, all of Alger's novels share the same theme: a young boy struggles through hard work to escape poverty. Critics, however, are quick to point out that it is not the hard work itself that rescues the boy from his fate, but rather some extraordinary act of bravery or honesty, which brings him into contact with a wealthy elder gentleman, who takes the boy in as a ward. The boy might return a large sum of money that was lost or rescue someone from an overturned carriage, bringing the boy—and his plight—to the attention of some wealthy individual. It has been suggested that this reflects Alger's own patronizing attitude to the boys he tried to help.

A fictionalized biography of James Garfield from his log cabin youth in Ohio through his career as educator and service as Civil War general to his 1881 election as twentieth President of the United States, an office he held for only four months before his assassination.

From Canal Boy to President Or the Boyhood and Manhood of James A. Garfield is a biography by Horatio Alger Jr. Garfield was the 20th president of the United States, lawyer and Civil War military officer who suffered assassination in 1881.