[13] He spent the next two months roaming around Washington, staying at rooming houses and sneaking away without paying for his meals and lodging. [32] He went to the District of Columbia jail to ask for a tour of the facility where he expected to be incarcerated, but he was told to come back later. Guiteau's trial was one of the first high-profile cases in the United States where the insanity defense was considered. Comments are moderated and require approval. The autopsy discovered this error and revealed pneumonia in both lungs and a body that was filled with pus due to uncontrolled sepsis. [79] He requested an orchestra to play as he sang the poem; it was denied. 1837 S East Bay Blvd, Suite 201 In planning this violent act, Guiteau stalked Garfield for weeks. Also, Bliss had supplanted Garfield's physician Jedediah Hyde Baxter. [77] Guiteau vehemently insisted that he had been legally insane at the time of the shooting, but he was not really medically insane, which caused a major rift with his defense lawyers, and which probably contributed to the jury's impression that Guiteau was merely trying to deny responsibility. [10] He loitered around Republican headquarters in New York City during the winter of 1880–1881, expecting rewards for his speech, but to no avail. [46] Robert Lincoln was deeply upset, thinking back to the assassination of his father, Abraham Lincoln, sixteen years earlier; he said, "How many hours of sorrow I have passed in this town. [21] He knew little about firearms, but he believed that he would need a large caliber gun. Bliss and the other doctors who attended Garfield had guessed wrong about the path of the bullet in his body; they had probed rightward into his back instead of leftward, missing the location of the bullet but creating a new channel which filled with pus. The shots came from a .44 British Bulldog, which the assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, had purchased specifically because he thought it would look impressive in a museum. He is listed as one of the four sitting presidents assassinated while in office, but, as indicated by his shooter, the cause of death is up for debate. [34][35], Garfield was scheduled to leave Washington on July 2, 1881 for his summer vacation, which was reported in the Washington newspapers,[36] and Guiteau lay in wait for him at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station on the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW in Washington, D.C.[37] Garfield came to the Sixth Street Station on his way to his alma mater Williams College, where he was scheduled to deliver a speech before beginning his vacation. [78] He appealed, but his appeal was rejected, and he was hanged on June 30, 1882, just two days before the first anniversary of the shooting, in the District of Columbia. January 26, 1882, p. 1, List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots, "Mrs. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper", "Trial Transcript: Cross-Examination of Charles Guiteau", "History of the Case of President Garfield", A President Felled by an Assassin and 1880s Medical Care, Come see Dead People at the Mutter Museum, President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, "Why Doesn't Garfield Assassination Site on the National Mall Have a Marker? Charles Guiteau turned to politics after failing in several ventures, including theology, a law practice, bill collecting, and spending time in the utopian Oneida Community. Provo, UT 84606 USA, † PhoneSoap 3 Laboratory [51], Navy engineers rigged up an air cooler in an effort to relieve him from the heat of a Washington summer. [11], Guiteau arrived in Washington on March 5, 1881, the day after Garfield's inauguration, still believing that he would be rewarded. His weight dropped from 210 pounds (95 kilograms) to 130 pounds (58 kilograms) as his inability to keep down and digest food took its toll. Blaine suggested the Cabinet declare Arthur acting president, but this option was rejected by all, including Arthur, who did not wish to be perceived as grasping for power.[57][86]. James A. Garfield: Death of the President. [27] The letter was ignored,[28] as was all the correspondence that Guiteau sent to the White House. [12] He obtained entrance to the White House and saw the President on March 8, 1881, dropping off a copy of his speech as a reminder of the campaign work which he had done on Garfield's behalf. Article II, section 1, clause 6 of the Constitution says that in case of the "Inability [of the President] to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President", but gives no further instruction on what constitutes inability or how the President's inability should be determined. [59] Pus-filled abscesses spread all over his body as the infections raged. He was accompanied by his sons James and Harry, and by Secretary of State James G. Blaine; Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln waited at the station to see him off. He said, "I hope—my God, I do hope it is a mistake", but confirmation by telegram came soon after. For all we know, the bullet wound had done enough damage on its own - but what we know for sure is that it could have saved him from months of pain. In honor of today being the anniversary of President Garfield's death, we're talking history - something we don't normally do. [64], Most historians and medical experts now believe that Garfield probably would have survived his wound had the doctors been more capable. [6] Guiteau then revised his speech to "Garfield against Hancock", and tried to sign on as a campaigner for the Republican ticket. [38] The first bullet grazed the President's shoulder, and the other struck him in the back, passing the first lumbar vertebra but missing the spinal cord before coming to rest behind his pancreas. Part of Charles Guiteau's preserved brain is on display at the Mütter Museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The Twenty-fifth Amendment was ratified in 1967 and provides an official procedure when the incapacity of a president is recognized. On Sep. 19, 1881, James Abram Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, died. [22][23] He favored ivory because he thought that it would look better as a museum exhibit after the assassination, but could not afford the extra dollar, so the store owner dropped the price for him. [43] Garfield was unaffiliated with either faction, but Blaine had given his support to Garfield once it became clear that Blaine could not win the presidential nomination. It was an act of God, resulting from a political necessity for which he was responsible." [8] The speech was ineffective, even in written form; among other problems, Guiteau had made a hurried but incomplete effort to replace references to Grant with references to Garfield. The question of Presidential disability was not addressed. [7] He never delivered the speech in a public setting, but had it printed (he never paid the bill) and distributed several hundred copies.

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