| Description | Charles J. Guiteau (1841-1882) was the child of an overbearing father and a deranged mother; little wonder that he grew up a near-lunatic. He is said to have stolen from most of those who knew him. He fancied himself a theologian, but no one paid much attention to his work. In 1880, when James A. Garfield was running for President, Guiteau became convinced that he knew how to organize the campaign, and sent Garfield suggestions as well as a request for high office. Both were ignored. Finally Guiteau concluded that it was his duty to assassinate Garfield, the idea being to make vice president Chester A. Arthur (a member of the "Stalwart," or patronage-driven, faction of the Republican Party) president. Guiteau finally shot Garfield on July 2, 1881 at a railway station. The wounds should not have been fatal, but Garfield's doctors were incompetents who spent their time feeling the wounds with dirty hands; Garfield died not of the injuries but of infection caused by his physicians. Still, Guiteau was charged with murder. So complete was his delusion that he did not expect to be convicted, but the crime was obviously first degree murder; Guiteau was hanged on June 30, 1882. |
