#20 James Garfield : The President who was Assassinated Twice (March 1881- Sept 1881)

Jan. 6, 2018

"Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President" by Candice Millard 2011

James Garfield was the epitome of the American Dream.  He was born in a log cabin in Ohio and raised by his dirt poor, widowed mother.   As the youngest child, his elder siblings anointed James as the one who would get to go to school and they all chipped in to try to make this happen.  But James was a restless, outgoing, curious boy and left school in his teens to work on the Erie Canal.  After nearly drowning, he decided school was better and threw himself into it while working as a janitor to pay his tuition. 

Garfield was a voracious reader and was amazingly intelligent in all subjects- math, science, languages, history, literature.  He was such a quick learner that he was hired by his college (Hiram College in Ohio) to teach many subjects while he was still in college.   After finishing his degree in Massachusetts, he returned to Ohio and became president of Hiram College at the age of 29, continuing to teach multiple subjects and publishing a mathematical proof. During this time he also taught himself law and passed the bar exam.

The man was obviously a very stable genius.

While in college, he met Lucretia Rudolph when he was her Greek teacher.  Lucretia was much quieter and more reserved than James- who was a big boisterous bear of a man who hugged everyone.  It took  several years for them to work up to marriage and they both had some doubts from the start.  After James had an affair, he and Lucretia not only worked out their issues but became devoted to each other for the rest of their lives.

Garfield began a political career in Ohio as a state senator but left that position to join the Union Army during the Civil War.  He worked his way up to the rank of Major General and was also elected to be a congressman from Ohio.  However, he refused to leave his military post to campaign for this position and  finally took up his congressional seat in 1863.  He served in this post until he became president. 

Worst mustache ever, Chester Arthur.

During reconstruction, the Republican party became split into two factions- the Stalwarts (who liked the spoils system)  led by Sen. Roscoe Conkling and the Half-Breeds (who wanted civil service reform) led by Sen. James Blaine.  At the 1880 convention these factions could not agree on a presidential candidate. Eventually Garfield was chosen and  Chester Arthur (a Stalwart) was added to the ticket as a compromise.  Garfield had no desire to run for president but left his quiet family and academic life in Ohio to help his country and party.  He did virtually no campaigning and won by only 2,000 in the popular vote, although a bigger margin in the electoral count.

Garfield was immediately wrapped up in his party's squabbles about appointments made through the spoils system or civil service reform.  He was overwhelmed by people claiming favors and wanting a political appointment.  One of these was a man named Charles J. Guiteau, a crazy, homeless man who felt that his support for Garfield deserved an appointment as minister to Austria or Paris.  He besieged the White House and State department with letters and daily visits, walking into Garfield's office at one point to demand his post.  Finally, Sec. of State Blaine told him he was nuts and was never going to get this office.  Guiteau then claims God told him to kill Garfield so Arthur could become president.  Guiteau shot Garfield in a train station in July 1881.  He was immediately captured after shouting that he had done this for Arthur.

President Garfield, who had zero  bodyguards with him, was rushed to the White House.  Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son, was at the station with Garfield when he was shot.  Lincoln rushed to bring the surgeon who had treated his father to the White House to help Garfield.  Dr. Bliss was not even a very respected doctor and one who did not believe in antisepsis or germs.   Dr. Bliss secluded Garfield away from almost everyone but family and a very few other consulted doctors. Bliss and his helpers probed the wound  in Garfield's back at least 10 times with unsterilized hands and instruments looking for the bullet.   Alexander Graham Bell even invented a metal detector  to help treat Garfield and would probably have found the bullet if Bliss would have allowed  him to look closer.

Everyone has filthy hands in this picture.

Not surprisingly, Garfield would die two months after being shot, from massive infection.  Therefore this blatant medical incompetence was his second assassination.  Garfield suffered horribly during this time but was always kind, patient and positive. If the measure of a man is how they handle suffering, then Garfield is truly an amazing man. His autopsy revealed that he could have survived just fine if they had just left the bullet inside of him and done absolutely nothing.  Guiteau was hung a year later - even though he claimed insanity as a defense.

Most Americans would not realize that the assignation of President James Garfield was a turning point in our history.  The wounds and division that our country and the Republican party suffered during Reconstruction might never have occurred under the leadership of this brilliant and unifying leader.