James A. Garfield is usually cast aside as a minor president from the late nineteenth century, one of the cold, bearded statues that fill parks across the country. However, Garfield stood out from his peers as a consummate politician who was able to live out his faith in a very corrupt political landscape. When his life was cut short by an assassin's bullet, the nation was more upset than when Lincoln died, and shortly after Garfield's death, almost every home in America had some kind of memorial to the twentieth president. Garfield's involvement with the Restoration Movement defined who he was, and long before he was widely known on the political stage, he was known and considered to be one of the leaders in an independent and fast-growing church group. This biography ties together Garfield's politics and religion to show how he really let his light shine in the world.