Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President
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35 He had been an active and involved parishioner: Foster, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement, 349.
36 “a wise and holy purpose”: “A Pastor’s Tribute,” New York Times, August 19, 1881.
37 Guiteau knew exactly where Garfield’s church: United States v. Guiteau, 695.
38 “That,” he judged, “would be good chance”: Hayes and Hayes, A Complete History, 430.
39 “a very stupid sermon”: Garfield, Diary, June 12, 1881, 4:609.
40 “Next Sunday”: Hayes and Hayes, A Complete History, 430.
41 Before the next Sunday sermon: Ibid.
42 “we have concluded to take her”: Garfield, Diary, June 16, 1881, 4:610.
43 “I was all ready”: Hayes and Hayes, A Complete History, 431.
44 “intended to remove the President”: United States v. Guiteau, 216.
45 Garfield arrived back in Washington: Garfield, Diary, June 27, 1881, 4:617.
46 “sea air is too strong for her”: Ibid., June 28, 1881, 4:617.
47 On June 30: Taylor, Garfield of Ohio, 261–62; “A Great Nation in Grief,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
48 “death-like stillness about me”: “Lincoln’s Faith in Dreams,” New York Times, April 7, 1898.
49 “an ugly dream”: Shenk, Lincoln’s Melancholy, 209.
50 “reveal God’s meaning in dreams”: “The Burden of the Presidency,” New York Times, September 25, 1881.
51 “I started to plunge”: Garfield, Diary, January 21, 1881, 4:531.
52 “as foolish as it does to you”: “The Burden of the Presidency,” New York Times, September 25, 1881.
53 The night after his cabinet meeting: Garfield, Diary, 4:614, n. 191.
54 “had never heard him speak”: “The Night Before the Shooting,” New York Times, July 20, 1881.
55 After Henry left: Garfield, Diary, 4:618–19, n. 206.
56 “let the matter drop”: United States v. Guiteau, 692.
57 When Garfield reached Blaine’s house: Hamilton, Biography of James G. Blaine, 516.
58 As he waited for Blaine: Harriet S. Blaine and Beale, Letters of Mrs. James G. Blaine, 215.
59 “Mr. Garfield had sold himself”: United States v. Guiteau, 694.
60 “engaged in the most earnest conversation”: Ibid., 694; Hayes and Hayes, A Complete History, 434.
61 “My mind”: Hayes and Hayes, A Complete History, 436.
Chapter 11: “A Desperate Deed”
1 “as if we were in fact two babies”: Comer, Harry Garfield’s First Forty Years, 55.
2 “You are President”: Hamilton, Biography of James G. Blaine, 516.
3 To his sons’ astonishment: Comer, Harry Garfield’s First Forty Years, 55.
4 “There are a few additional lines”: Quoted in Feis, Mollie Garfield in the White House, 67.
5 “The work of the campaign”: Stanley-Brown, “Memorandum Concerning Joseph Stanley-Brown’s Relations with General Garfield,” 11.
6 “the tact and ability”: “Mr. Rogers’ Successor,” Washington Post, March 17, 1881.
7 “perfectly master of the situation”: “Some Stylish Turn-Outs,” Washington Post, May 1, 1881.
8 “with an almost pathetic longing”: Stanley-Brown, “My Friend Garfield,” 100.
9 “Goodbye, my boy”: Ibid.; Stanley-Brown, “Memorandum Concerning Joseph Stanley-Brown’s Relations with General Garfield,” 12.
10 The small caravan: Peskin, Garfield, 595.
11 “in conscious enjoyment”: Hamilton, Biography of James G. Blaine, 516.
12 When he opened his eyes at 5:00 a.m.: United States v. Guiteau, 631.
13 After reading about the president’s trip: “Riggs House Is Demolished,” Bryan Times, July 18, 1911.
14 “I can’t do anything for you to-day”: The Attempted Assassination of President Garfield, 34–35.
15 It was too early for breakfast: United States v. Guiteau, 705.
16 “I ate well”: Hayes and Hayes, A Complete History, 437.
17 “To General Sherman”: Guiteau to William Tecumseh Sherman, Library of Congress; United States v. Guiteau, 217.
18 “You can print this entire book”: United States v. Guiteau, 217.
19 “The President’s tragic death”: Ibid., 215–16.
20 “nice, clean shirt”: Ibid., 142, 705.
21 Before stepping out the door: Hayes and Hayes, A Complete History, 438; Clark, The Murder of James A. Garfield, 54.
22 Although he had taken his time: The station was razed in 1908, under the orders of President Theodore Roosevelt, and is now the site of the National Gallery of Art. B Street is now Constitution Avenue.
23 “Well, I will take you out there”: Hayes and Hayes, A Complete History, 438.
24 Approaching a newsstand, he asked: United States v. Guiteau, 186.
25 “Certainly”: Hayes and Hayes, A Complete History, 438; “Guiteau’s Murderous Plans,” New York Times, July 15, 1881.
26 “will wonder”: Belanger, “The Railroad in the Park,” 5–19.
27 “nuisance which ought long since”: Garfield, Diary, October 25, 1876, 3:370.
28 “I did not know, since that great sorrow”: Ibid., October 27, 1876, 3:371.
29 As the carriage carrying Garfield: United States v. Guiteau, 186.
30 “I did not think it was proper”: Ibid., 121.
31 As the two men ascended the steps: Ibid., 120, 186.
32 “absolutely free”: Theodore Clarke Smith, The Life and Letters of James A. Garfield, 46.
33 “He would look in one door”: United States v. Guiteau, 141.
34 “His teeth were clenched”: “The First Shot Struck the President,” New York Times, July 17, 1881.
35 Garfield had walked only a few steps: Clark, The Murder of James A. Garfield, 58.
36 “My God! What is this?”: United States v. Guiteau, 121.
37 “The expression on [his] face”: “The First Shot Struck the President,” New York Times, July 17, 1881.
38 Despite the wave of fear: The order in which Garfield was shot—first in his arm, then in his back—is described by Mollie Garfield in her diary, July 2, 1881, Library of Congress; also quoted in Feis, Mollie Garfield in the White House, 82.
39 The force thrust Garfield forward: United States v. Guiteau, 121; “A Great Nation in Grief,” New York Times, July 3, 1881; Ridpath, The Life and Work of James A. Garfield, 594; United States v. Guiteau, 151, 156.
Chapter 12: “Thank God It Is All Over”
1 “Catch him!”: “The First Shot Struck the President,” New York Times, July 17, 1881.
2 “blanched like that of a corpse”: United States v. Guiteau, 121; The Attempted Assassination of President Garfield, 43.
3 The first man to catch Guiteau: Melanson, The Secret Service, 24. A Secret Service agent happened to be standing nearby, but did nothing to help. Later that day, he would mention in his daily report that he had noticed a strange commotion at the station that morning.
4 Officer Kearney, who had exchanged: United States v. Guiteau, 186.
5 “I truly believe”: The Attempted Assassination of President Garfield, 46.
6 “in his eyes”: United States v. Guiteau, 149, 187.
7 “I have a letter”: Ibid., 180–81.
8 The men who had arrested Guiteau: Ibid., 171, 188; “A Great Nation in Grief,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
9 “I did not expect to go through”: United States v. Guiteau, 702.
10 “You stick to me”: “A Great Nation in Grief,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
11 “haunted and haunted”: United States v. Guiteau, 601.
12 “Keep back!”: Rockwell, “Garfield’s Assassination.”
13 “was very pale”: United States v. Guiteau, 159.
14 “very hard”: Ibid.
15 Watching Smith struggle : Ibid., 141.
16 As tears streamed down White’s face: Ibid., 145.
17 Although it seemed to
everyone: “The Assassination of President Garfield,” National Museum of Health and Medicine, 1; Reyburn, Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield, 7.
18 Just five minutes after the shooting: Reyburn, Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield, 11.
19 Townsend’s first concern: Bliss et al., “Record of the Post-mortem Examination of the Body of President J. A. Garfield,” 2.
20 When Garfield was alert enough: “A Great Nation in Grief,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
21 After he made his initial examination: Ibid.
22 A group of men who worked: Rutkow, James A. Garfield, 84.
23 As they lifted the president: The Attempted Assassination of President Garfield, 44; Rockwell, “Garfield’s Assassination.”
24 “I think you had better telegraph to Crete”: Rockwell, “Garfield’s Assassination.”
25 “I recognized the man”: United States v. Guiteau, 122.
26 Although he was only thirty-nine: Medicine.howard.edu; encyclopedia.jrank.org.
27 Now, as he leaned over Garfield: Bliss’s notes, p. 3, archives of the National Museum of Health and Medicine
28 “the calmest man in the room”: Robert Todd Lincoln to a friend, July 28, 1881, Library of Congress.
29 “One chance in a hundred”: “Some Hope at Midnight,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
30 “My God,” he murmured: “A Great Nation in Grief,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
31 Suddenly, Lincoln decided: “Dr. Bliss’s Authority,” National Republic, July 4, 1882.
32 “an earnest, industrious boy”: Paulson, “Death of a President and His Assassin,” Journal of the History of the Neurosciences (2006): 80.
33 Years later, when he was a congressman: Kaufman, Homeopathy in America, 88–90; “Who the Doctors Are,” Washington Post, July 5, 1881.
34 In the end, Bliss could not hold up: Soper, “Dr. Willard Bliss.”
35 Although it seemed that his occupation: “How Dr. Bliss Got His Name,” New York Times, July 9, 1881. After Bliss was born, the nurses attending his mother suggested that she name her son after the man who had delivered him—Dr. Willard. Bliss’s mother, taking the suggestion perhaps a little too literally, named her child Doctor Willard Bliss.
36 While at the Armory Square Hospital: Soper, “Dr. Willard Bliss.”
37 “Cundurango!”: Ibid.
38 As soon as Bliss arrived: Bliss et al., “Record of the Post-mortem Examination of the Body of President J. A. Garfield,” 1–2.
39 “In attempting to withdraw the probe”: Ibid., 2.
40 “what appeared to be lacerated tissue”: Ibid.
41 “downward and forward”: Ibid.; Ackerman, Dark Horse.
Chapter 13: “It’s True”
1 Lucretia was packing her bags: Peskin, Garfield, 146.
2 “The President wishes me to say”: Harper’s Weekly 25 (1881); “A Great Nation in Grief,” New York Times, July 3, 1881; Rockwell, “Garfield’s Assassination.”
3 “Tell me the truth”: Shaw, Lucretia, 103.
4 still nursing a grudge: A few days later, Grant made a late and extremely brief appearance at a reception that was held for Garfield. He kept his wife waiting in their carriage while he stepped into the hall, shook Garfield’s hand, and quickly made his exit.
5 “I do not think he can afford”: Garfield, Diary, June 24, 1881, 4:615.
6 “so overcome with emotion”: “Sending for Mrs. Garfield,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
7 Finally, he was able to tell Lucretia: Ackerman, Dark Horse, 387.
8 Hurriedly finishing her packing: “Mrs. Garfield’s Narrow Escape,” New York Times, July 5, 1881.
9 By the time they reached the station: “Sending for Mrs. Garfield,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
10 “All along the route”: The Attempted Assassination of President Garfield, 45.
11 “Conductors passed quietly”: Comer, Harry Garfield’s First Forty Years, 57.
12 “We have not said a word”: “At the President’s House,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
13 In the second-story room: Reyburn, Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield, 12.
14 “The crowd about the depot”: The Attempted Assassination of President Garfield, 43.
15 Within ten minutes of the shooting: Chicago Tribune, July 3, 1881.
16 As soon as Garfield appeared: “Removal of Mr. Garfield,” Washington Post, July 3, 1881.
17 “I think I can see now”: Reyburn, Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield, 11.
18 Hoping to spare the president: Seale, The President’s House, 521.
19 “sufferings must have been intense”: Chicago Tribune, July 3, 1881.
20 “haltingly and timidly”: Stanley-Brown, “My Friend Garfield.”
21 “Oh, Mr. Secretary”: Ibid.
22 “Even in moments of greatest misery”: Ibid.
23 “temporary but adequate”: Stanley-Brown, “Memorandum Concerning Joseph Stanley-Brown’s Relations with General Garfield,” 12.
24 “full and accurate information”: Stanley-Brown, “My Friend Garfield.”
25 “miniature hospital”: Ibid.
26 “abounding in health”: Stanley-Brown, “Memorandum Concerning Joseph Stanley-Brown’s Relations with General Garfield,” 13.
27 A dozen men lifted above their heads the mattress: Seale, The President’s House, 522.
28 “The upper story is alright”: “A Great Nation in Grief,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
29 “the Pullman car”: “Mrs. Garfield’s Narrow Escape,” New York Times, July 5, 1881.
30 “That’s my wife!”: Brown, The Life and Public Services of James A. Garfield, 220.
31 “Mrs. Garfield came, frail, fatigued”: Blaine, Letters of Mrs. James G. Blaine, 211.
32 “evidently … making a strong effort”: “A Great Nation in Grief,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
33 “will not probably live”: “A Great Nation in Grief,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
34 “I am here to nurse you”: Seale, The President’s House, 522.
Chapter 14: All Evil Consequences
1 While most of the country heard: Tainter, “The Talking Machine and Some Little Known Facts in Connection with Its Early Development,” 17. (Hereafter “The Talking Machine.”)
2 “President Garfield,” the caller said: Ibid.
3 “belonged to us”: Eliza Bell to Alexander Graham Bell, July 8, 1881, Bell Family Papers.
4 “Everybody ran hither and thither”: McCabe, Our Martyred President, 535.
5 Determined to find out for himself: Tainter, “The Talking Machine,” 17.
6 “no one could venture to predict”: Bell, Upon the Electrical Experiments, 1.
7 “Nature did all she could”: Girdner, “The Death of President Garfield,” Munsey’s Magazine, 548.
8 “none the worse for it”: “What Surgeon J. F. May Says,” New York Times, July 8, 1881.
9 “had been a ‘tough’ ”: Girdner, “The Death of President Garfield,” 547.
10 “the crowds were rapidly increasing”: “A Great Nation in Grief,” New York Times, July 3, 1881.
11 Inside the White House: Seale, The President’s House, 522.
12 “President Garfield was shot and killed”: Clark, The Murder of James A. Garfield, 64.
13 At the top of his list of potential competitors: “The President’s Physicians,” New York Times, July 13, 1881.
14 When Baxter arrived at the White House: Bliss, Statement of the Services Rendered by the Surgeons in the Case of the Late President Garfield, 19.
15 “Why, doctor”: Ibid., 19.
16 “He is my patient”: Bliss’s wife to her brother, August 28, 1881.
17 “I know your game”: “The President’s Physicians,” New York Times, July 13, 1881.
18 “Dear Doctor”: D. W. Bliss to doctors, July 3, 1881.
; 19 “He just took charge of it”: “President Garfield’s Case,” American Observer, 494.
20 “select such counsel”: Reyburn, Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield, 15.
21 To his mortification, however: Clark, The Murder of James A. Garfield, 99.
22 Lucretia, in fact, had taken matters: Dr. Edson was a homeopathic physician. Like other homeopaths, her philosophy was in direct opposition to that of allopathy, the type of medicine that Bliss, Baxter, and the vast majority of American doctors then practiced. In medical school, she had been taught that “like cures like.” When treating a patient, she tried to prescribe medicines that produced the same symptoms in her patients as the diseases from which they were suffering. More important, she believed in the “law of infinitesimals”—the smaller the dose, the more effective the treatment. Although homeopathic medicine did little good, neither did it cause much harm, certainly in comparison to allopathy. In the late nineteenth century, American allopathic doctors still relied heavily on “heroic measures”—not as a last resort, but as a first step. They vigorously argued the benefits of bleeding, blistering, and scarification. Purging was also considered highly therapeutic, brought on by doses so toxic that they caused violent vomiting and, occasionally, death.
23 The stout, bespectacled doctor: Feis, Mollie Garfield in the White House, p. 70.
24 “Mrs. Dr. Edson”: Balston, Life of President Garfield, Supplementary Chapter by Edson, 612.
25 Dr. Silas Boynton: Garfield had an especially high regard for Boynton because the doctor had “burst the narrow barriers of homeopathy.”
26 “Please to have you come”: Deppisch, “Homeopathic Medicine and Presidential Health,” 6.
27 “I had a taste of what has been”: Pasteur and Lister, Germ Theory and Its Applications to Medicine, 144.
28 “all evil consequences”: Bankston, 35.
29 “In order to successfully practice”: Clark, The Murder of James A. Garfield, 72.
30 “Judging the future by the past”: Ibid.
31 “good old surgical stink”: Ibid., 70; Guthrie, From Witchcraft to Antisepsis, 32.
32 Some physicians felt that Lister’s: Rutkow, James A. Garfield, 110.