On July 2, 1881, U.S. President James A. Garfield was seriously wounded by Charles J. Guiteau at the Baltimore and Potomac Railway Station in Washington, D.C. Elected less than four months earlier, the twentieth president of the United States was about to board a train when he was struck by two shots. His assailant, a disappointed candidate for public office, was arrested at the scene. Garfield died on September 19, after eleven weeks of agony.
A crime born of political patronage
Charles Guiteau hoped to obtain a consulship in Paris after supporting Garfield's republican campaign in 1880. His repeated requests were rejected by the administration. Convinced he had been unjustly passed over and persuaded that the president was threatening his party, he decided to assassinate him.
At the time of his arrest, Guiteau claimed to belong to the "Stalwarts," a Republican faction that supported the spoils system: federal jobs were often awarded to political allies of the government. He was convicted of murder and hanged in Washington on June 30, 1882.
Treatments that worsen injuries
Neither bullet struck the spinal cord or any vital organ. However, doctors repeatedly attempted to locate the projectile using unsterilized fingers and instruments, increasing the risk of a serious infection. Alexander Graham Bell also tried to locate the bullet using a metal detector, but without success.
Garfield's death caused a wave of emotion across the country and strengthened the supporters of administrative reform. On January 16, 1883, his successor, Chester A. Arthur, signed the Pendleton Act, which gradually introduced the recruitment of federal civil servants based on merit and competitive examinations, rather than political favoritism.
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