Destiny of the Republic Part 26

Review of the Transactions of the Credit Mobilier Company, and an Examination of that Portion of the Testimony Taken by the Committee of Investigation and Reported to the House of Representatives at the Last Session of the Forty-Second Congress which Relates to Mr. Garfield. Was.h.i.+ngton, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1873.

Reyburn, Robert. Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield. Was.h.i.+ngton, DC: Otis Historical Archives, 1893.

Ridpath, John Clark. The Life and Work of James A. Garfield, Twentieth President of the United States The Life and Work of James A. Garfield, Twentieth President of the United States. Cincinnati: Forshee & McMakin, 1881.

Ringenberg, William C. "The Religious Thought and Practice of James A. Garfield." In The Stone-Campbell Movement, an International Religious Tradition The Stone-Campbell Movement, an International Religious Tradition, edited by Michael W. Casey and Douglas A. Foster. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 2002.

Robertson, Constance Noyes. Oneida Community: The Breakup, 18761881 Oneida Community: The Breakup, 18761881. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.

Robinson, Victor. The Story of Medicine The Story of Medicine. New York: New Home Library, 1943.

Rockwell, Almon. "From Mentor to Elberon," Century Magazine Century Magazine 23 (1882): 43138. 23 (1882): 43138.

Roll of Delegates and Alternates to the Republican National Convention, Chicago, June 2, 1880.

Rosenberg, Charles E. The Trial of the a.s.sa.s.sin Guiteau: Psychiatry and the Law in the Gilded Age The Trial of the a.s.sa.s.sin Guiteau: Psychiatry and the Law in the Gilded Age. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968.

Rothstein, William G. American Physicians in the Nineteenth Century: From Sects to Science American Physicians in the Nineteenth Century: From Sects to Science. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1972.

"Rough Sketch of an Introduction to a Life of General Garfield," typescript, Hiram College Archives.

Rushford, Jerry. "James A. Garfield: The Early Years." Restoration Quarterly Restoration Quarterly (1977[?]). In Hiram College Archives. (1977[?]). In Hiram College Archives.

Rutkow, Ira. Bleeding Blue and Gray: Civil War Surgery and the Evolution of American Medicine Bleeding Blue and Gray: Civil War Surgery and the Evolution of American Medicine. New York: Random House, 2005.

---. James A. Garfield James A. Garfield. New York: Henry Holt, 2006.

Schlereth, Thomas J. Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life. New York: HarperPerennial, 1991.

Seale, William. The President's House: A History The President's House: A History, 2 vols. Was.h.i.+ngton, DC: White House Historical a.s.sociation, 1986.

Shaw, John, ed. Crete and James: Personal Letters of Lucretia and James Garfield Crete and James: Personal Letters of Lucretia and James Garfield. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1994.

---. Lucretia Lucretia. New York: Nova History Publications, 2004.

---. "Lucretia and Her Letters: The Garfield Correspondence." Hiram Broadcaster Magazine Hiram Broadcaster Magazine (Spring 1986): 812. (Spring 1986): 812.

Shenk, Joshua Wolf. Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness. Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.

Sherman, John. Recollections of Forty Years in the House, Senate and Cabinet Recollections of Forty Years in the House, Senate and Cabinet, 2 vols. Chicago: Werner, 1895.

Shrady, George F. "Is Guiteau Insane?" Medical Record Medical Record 20 (October 22, 1881): 5001. 20 (October 22, 1881): 5001.

---. "The Late President Garfield's Case." Medical Record Medical Record 20 (October 8, 1881): 41011. 20 (October 8, 1881): 41011.

---. "The Lesson of the Bullet." Medical Record Medical Record 20 (October 15, 1881): 43637. 20 (October 15, 1881): 43637.

---. "Surgical and Pathological Reflections on President Garfield's Wound." Medical Record Medical Record 20 (October 1881): 4046. 20 (October 1881): 4046.

Smalley, E. V. "The White House." Century Magazine Century Magazine 27 (April 1884): 80315. 27 (April 1884): 80315.

Smith, Stephen. "Telephonic Bullet-Probe." Dublin Journal of Medical Science Dublin Journal of Medical Science 96 (JulyDecember 1893): 106. 96 (JulyDecember 1893): 106.

Smith, Theodore Clarke. The Life and Letters of James Abram Garfield The Life and Letters of James Abram Garfield. 2 vols. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1925.

Soper, Steve. "Dr. Willard Bliss." Men of the 3rd Michigan Infantry (blog), http://thirdmichigan.blogspot.com/2007/10/d-willard-bliss.html.

Stanley-Brown, Joseph. "Memorandum Concerning Joseph Stanley-Brown's Relations with General Garfield." New York: Library of Congress, June 24, 1924.

---. "My Friend Garfield." American Heritage American Heritage 22 (August 1971). 22 (August 1971).

---. Stanley-Brown Family History Stanley-Brown Family History. Was.h.i.+ngton, DC: Library of Congress.

Sutherland, Daniel E. The Expansion of Everyday Life, 18601876 The Expansion of Everyday Life, 18601876. New York: Harper & Row, 1989.

Tainter, Charles Sumner. "Home Notes," n.d. Charles Sumner Tainter Papers, National Museum of American History.

---. "The Talking Machine and Some Little Known Facts in Connection with Its Early Development," n.d. Unpublished memoir, Charles Sumner Tainter Papers, National Museum of American History.

Taylor, John M. "a.s.sa.s.sin on Trial." American Heritage American Heritage 32 (June/July 1981). 32 (June/July 1981).

---. Garfield of Ohio: The Available Man Garfield of Ohio: The Available Man. New York: W. W. Norton, 1970.

Thayer, William M. From From Log-Cabin to the White House Log-Cabin to the White House. Boston: James H. Earle, 1881.

Tousey, Sinclair. Medical Electricity Rontgen Rays and Radium, with a Practical Chapter on Phototherapy Medical Electricity Rontgen Rays and Radium, with a Practical Chapter on Phototherapy. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 1921.

"The Treatment of the Late President's Wound." Medical Gazette Medical Gazette (June 31, 1882). (June 31, 1882).

Truax, Rhoda. Joseph Lister: Father of Modern Surgery Joseph Lister: Father of Modern Surgery. Indianapolis: Bobbs Merrill, 1944.

Trunkey, Donald. "Medical and Surgical Care of Our Four a.s.sa.s.sinated Presidents." Journal of the American College of Surgeons Journal of the American College of Surgeons 201 (December 2005): 97689. 201 (December 2005): 97689.

Watkins, T. H. "Eyewitness." American Heritage American Heritage 31 (February/March 1980). 31 (February/March 1980).

Weiner, Bradley K. "The Case of James A. Garfield: A Historical Perspective." Spine: An International Journal for the Study of the Spine Spine: An International Journal for the Study of the Spine 28 (May 15, 2003): E183-E186. 28 (May 15, 2003): E183-E186.

Weisse, Faneuil D. "Surgico-Anatomical Study of the Gunshot Wound of President Garfield." Medical Record Medical Record 20 (October 1881). 20 (October 1881).

West, Donald J., and Alexander Walk, eds. Daniel McNaughton: His Trial and the Aftermath Daniel McNaughton: His Trial and the Aftermath. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1977.

Whitcomb, John, and Claire Whitcomb. Real Life at the White House: 200 Years of Daily Life at America's Most Famous Residence. New York: Routledge, 2000.

Williams, Charles Richard, ed. Diary and Letters of Rutherford B. Hayes, Nineteenth President of the United States Diary and Letters of Rutherford B. Hayes, Nineteenth President of the United States, vol. 1: 18341860 18341860. Columbus: The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1922.

Young, Donald. American Roulette: The History and Dilemma of the Vice Presidency American Roulette: The History and Dilemma of the Vice Presidency. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965.

ILl.u.s.tRATION CREDITS Insert One 1.1 The Western Reserve Historical Society The Western Reserve Historical Society 1.2 The New York Public Library The New York Public Library 1.3 Print and Picture Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia Print and Picture Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia 1.4 Library of Congress Library of Congress 1.5 Stonington Historical Society, Stonington, Connecticut Stonington Historical Society, Stonington, Connecticut 1.6 The New York Public Library The New York Public Library 1.7 Library of Congress Library of Congress 1.8 U.S. Historical Archive U.S. Historical Archive 1.9 U.S. Historical Archive U.S. Historical Archive 1.10 Library of Congress Library of Congress 1.11 Mollie Garfield in the White House Mollie Garfield in the White House, Ruth S. B. Feis 1.12 Library of Congress Library of Congress 1.13 Corbis Corbis 1.14 Library of Congress Library of Congress 1.15 Library of Congress Library of Congress 1.16 Library of Congress Library of Congress 1.17 Corbis Corbis 1.18 Corbis Corbis Insert Two 2.1 National Museum of Health and Medicine (NCP 1858) National Museum of Health and Medicine (NCP 1858) 2.2 Library of Congress Library of Congress 2.3 The Historical Society of Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C. The Historical Society of Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.

2.4 National Museum of Health and Medicine (NCP 1860) National Museum of Health and Medicine (NCP 1860) 2.5 Library of Congress Library of Congress 2.6 Special Collections, University of Virginia Library Special Collections, University of Virginia Library 2.7 Library of Congress Library of Congress 2.8 Division of Political History, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Inst.i.tution Division of Political History, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Inst.i.tution 2.9 Library of Congress Library of Congress 2.10 Library of Congress Library of Congress 2.11 Hiram College Archives Hiram College Archives 2.12 National Museum of Health and Medicine (NCP 1861) National Museum of Health and Medicine (NCP 1861) 2.13 Hiram College Archives Hiram College Archives 2.14 The White House Historical a.s.sociation The White House Historical a.s.sociation 2.15 Library of Congress Library of Congress 2.16 Hiram College Archives Hiram College Archives 2.17 Library of Congress Library of Congress 2.18 Library of Congress Library of Congress

Born into abject poverty, James Garfield paid for his first year of college by working as the school's carpenter and janitor, but so extraordinary was his academic achievement that by his second year he was promoted to a.s.sistant professor of literature and ancient languages. Just before his wedding to Lucretia Rudolph he was made the school's president, at twenty-six years of age. (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.1) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.1)

Little more than a year after he accepted a seat in the Ohio state senate, Garfield joined the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. Although his service was hailed as heroic and he was quickly promoted to brigadier general, Garfield was haunted by the memory of the young soldiers he had seen killed in battle. "Something went out of him," he told a friend, "that never came back; the sense of the sacredness of life and the impossibility of destroying it." (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.2) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.2)

In 1876, Garfield attended the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia to see some of the world's most ambitious scientific and artistic inventions, including the towering hand and torch that were then all that had been completed of the Statue of Liberty. Also at the exhibition were twenty-nine-year-old Alexander Graham Bell and the renowned British surgeon Dr. Joseph Lister. (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.3) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.3)

At the 1880 Republican Convention, Garfield (standing center stage, right side of the photograph) gave the nominating address for John Sherman, then secretary of the treasury. Speaking to a rapt audience, Garfield, who was not a candidate himself, asked a simple question: "And now, gentlemen of the Convention, what do we want?" To his dismay and the crowd's delight, one man shouted, "We want Garfield!"-starting a cascade of support that ended in his nomination. (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.4) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.4)

Three days after Garfield's surprise nomination, a dangerously delusional young man named Charles Guiteau boarded the steams.h.i.+p Stonington Stonington for an overnight crossing from Connecticut to New York that ended tragically in a fiery maritime disaster. To Guiteau, his survival meant that he had been chosen by G.o.d for a task of great importance. for an overnight crossing from Connecticut to New York that ended tragically in a fiery maritime disaster. To Guiteau, his survival meant that he had been chosen by G.o.d for a task of great importance. (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.5) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.5)

On November 2, 1880, Garfield was elected the twentieth president of the United States. Although he approached his presidency with a characteristic sense of purpose, he mourned the quiet, contemplative life he was about to lose. "There is a tone of sadness running through this triumph," he wrote, "which I can hardly explain." (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.6) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.6)

The greatest threat to Garfield's presidency came from within his own party, in the person of Roscoe Conkling, a preening senior Republican senator from New York and arguably the most powerful man in the country. Although he expected the new president to bend to his will, Conkling found in Garfield a surprisingly unyielding opponent. "Of course I deprecate war," Garfield wrote, "but if it is brought to my door the bringer will find me at home." (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.7) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.7)

Never comfortable in her role as first lady, Lucretia Garfield was as quiet and reserved as her husband was warm and expansive. The early years of their marriage had been difficult, but over time Garfield had fallen deeply in love with his wife. "The tyranny of our love is sweet," he wrote to her. "We waited long for his coming, but he has come to stay." (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.8) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.8)

Conkling's most loyal minion was Garfield's own vice president, Chester Arthur. Arthur, who had been forced upon Garfield as a running mate, did nothing to disguise his loyalties, even after the election. Others bewailed his lack of credentials, noting that Arthur "never held an office except the one he was removed from." (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.9) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.9)

When they moved into the White House after Garfield's inauguration, James and Lucretia brought with them their five children (from left to right: Abram, James, Mollie, Irvin, and Harry), as well as James's widowed mother, Eliza. "Slept too soundly to remember any dream," Lucretia wrote in her diary after her family's first night in the White House. "And so our first night among the shadows of the last 80 years gave no forecast of our future." (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.10) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.10)

At just twenty-three years of age, Joseph Stanley Brown was the youngest man ever to hold the office of private secretary to the president. Brown's most difficult job was keeping at bay the h.o.a.rds of office seekers who demanded to see the president. "These people," Garfield told his young secretary, "would take my very brains, flesh and blood if they could." (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.11) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.11)

Although thousands of office seekers flooded Brown's office, one man stood out as an "ill.u.s.tration of unparalleled audacity." Charles Guiteau visited the White House and the State Department nearly every day, inquiring about the consuls.h.i.+p to France he believed the president owed him. Finally, after months of polite but firm discouragement, Guiteau received what he felt was a divine inspiration: G.o.d wanted him to kill the president. (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.12) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.12)

In mid-June, Guiteau, who had survived for years by slipping out just before his rent was due, borrowed fifteen dollars and bought a gun-a .44 caliber British Bulldog with an ivory handle. Having never before fired a gun, he took it to the Potomac River and practiced shooting at a sapling. "I knew nothing about it," he said, "no more than a child." (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.13) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.13)

On the morning of July 2, Garfield and his secretary of state, James Blaine, arrived at the Baltimore and Potomac train station (below), where Guiteau, who had been stalking the president for more than a month, was waiting for him. The a.s.sa.s.sin's gun was loaded, his shoes were polished, and in his suit pocket was a letter to General William Tec.u.mseh Sherman. "I have just shot the President...," it read. "Please order out your troops, and take possession of the jail at once." (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.14) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.14)

(Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.15)

Just moments after Garfield and Blaine entered the waiting room, Guiteau pulled the trigger. The first shot pa.s.sed through the president's right arm, but the second sent a bullet ripping through his back. Garfield's knees buckled, and he fell to the train station floor, bleeding and vomiting, as the station erupted in screams. (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.16) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.16)

While Guiteau was quickly captured and taken into custody, Garfield was carried on a horsehair mattress to an upstairs room in the train station. Surrounded by ten different doctors, each of whom wanted to examine the president, Garfield lay, silent and unflinching, as the men repeatedly inserted unsterilized fingers and instruments into the wound, searching for the bullet. (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.17) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.17)

Sixteen years before Garfield's shooting, Joseph Lister had achieved dramatic results using carbolic acid to sterilize his operating room, and his method had been adopted in much of Europe. In the United States, however, the most experienced physicians still refused to use Lister's technique, complaining that it was too time-consuming, and dismissing it as unnecessary, even ridiculous. (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.18) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 1.18)

Although a crowd of nervous doctors hovered over Garfield at the train station, Robert Todd Lincoln, Garfield's secretary of war and Abraham Lincoln's only surviving son, quickly took charge, sending his carriage for Dr. D. Willard Bliss, one of the surgeons who had been at his father's deathbed. Bliss, a strict traditionalist, was confident that the president could not hope to find a better physician. "If I can't save him," he told a reporter, "no one can." (Ill.u.s.tration credit 2.1) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 2.1)

Soon after Garfield was brought to the White House, Bliss dismissed the other doctors, keeping only a handful of physicians and surgeons who reported directly to him. Dr. Susan Edson, one of the first female doctors in the country and Lucretia's personal physician, insisted on staying, even though Bliss refused to let her provide anything but the most basic nursing services to the president. (Ill.u.s.tration credit 2.2) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 2.2)

(Ill.u.s.tration credit 2.3)

Guiteau's bullet (first photo above), which entered Garfield's back four inches to the right of his spinal column, broke two of his ribs and grazed an artery. Miraculously, it did not hit any vital organs or his spinal cord as it continued its trajectory to the left, finally coming to rest behind his pancreas. The bullet had done all the harm it was going to do, but Bliss had only begun. (Ill.u.s.tration credit 2.4) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 2.4)

After returning Garfield to the White House, which although crumbling and rat infested was preferable to the overcrowded hospitals, Bliss continued to search for the bullet. Garfield had survived the shooting, but he now faced an even more serious threat to his life: the infection that his doctors repeatedly introduced as they probed the wound in his back. (Ill.u.s.tration credit 2.5) (Ill.u.s.tration credit 2.5)