President James Garfield Assassination
Garfield’s assassin Charles Guiteau is generally described as a “Disappointed Office Seeker” who had campaigned for the Republican ticket in 1880. Above all Guiteau was also a brilliant lunatic who was smart and scrappy and a clever opportunist. His lunacy was primarily based in delusions of grandeur.
Guiteau had tried almost everything: law, evangelism and even a free love commune in upstate New York known as the Oneida Community where the women called Charles Guiteau “Charles Get Out.”
He traveled all over the country by train without buying a ticket. He moved from boarding house to boarding house without ever paying rent. As a bill collector he just kept what he collected.
After the election he began stalking Garfield who failed to acknowledge what Guiteau believed was his unselfish support in 1880 that helped Garfield barely defeat Winfield Scott Hancock, one of the heroes of Gettysburg. He caught up to the president at the Baltimore and Pacific Railroad Statioin on July 2, 1881. While Garfield's assassination is generally considered the act of a madman, it was more than that.
In reality killing Garfield became the only successful coup in American history. Guiteau was a Stalwart as was Chester A. Arthur. Stalwarts believed in patronage. Garfield was a Half Breed and Half Breeds did not support patronage.
Guiteau, while crazy, set out to replace Garfield with Arthur and did just that. After shooting Garfield Guiteau said I am a Stalwart and now Arthur will be President.
Dr. Doctor Willard Bliss put himself in charge of Garfield’s medical care even though he was not Garfield's personal physician. When Bliss was born his family gave him the first name of Doctor. His middle name Willard was inspired by New Englander Dr. Samuel Willard who in 1801 opened the first U.S. hospital to treat mental illness.
Bliss was a surgeon at Gettysburg with the 3rd Michigan who fought in the Peach Orchid, and he was at Lincoln’s bedside on the day he died. Bliss was also a quack. He believed he could cure cancer using herbs. That stunt caused him to be ousted by the medical community. He spent a year in jail after being caught in a hospital money scandal.
His treatment of Garfield was full blown ineptitude, bordering on immorality. He forbids other doctors, including Garfield's personal physician, from seeing him. He did permit Alexander Graham Bell to use his newly invented metal detector to help find the bullet that remained lodged in Garfield. However, he only let him test one side: the wrong side. The examination was a complete failure mainly because they never took him off a mattress with metal springs.
After Garfield died, Bliss sent the government a bill for $6,500; about $25,000 in today's money. The government ignored Bliss's fee. Charles Guiteau always said he wasn't the one who killed Garfield. He only shot Garfield. It was the doctors who killed Garfield.
