It was the doctors who killed him
In the presence of historic legends like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, modern heroes like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, little fame has gone over to President Garfield. Garfield is one of only four US presidents to be assassinated, the others being Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and William McKinley. Despite being a part of these four, he is still overshadowed by the Lincoln and Kennedy, who’s assassinations are widely known to in today’s world. In this article, I will acquaint you with President James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States of America.
Background
James A. Garfield was born in Ohio, to Abram and Eliza Garfield. His father died soon after, but he was raised by his strong willed mother. With 5 siblings, James was the favorite of his mother and the two shared a strong bond throughout their lives. He enjoyed reading and tended to stay away from the other kids who often bullied him. He studied law, and soon became a barrister. He married Lucretia Rudolph in 1858. He soon entered politics.
Road to Presidency
Garfield was elected as the Republican nominee for the presidential elections of 1880. He was elected as the nominee in a convention that had Treasury Secretary John Sherman, future Secretary of State under Garfield, James G. Blaine, and former president and general of the union army during the American Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant. Although Garfield himself supported Sherman for the presidency, he was soon chosen as the Republican nominee.
Garfield’s political opponent was Democrat nominee Major General Winfield Scott Hancock. At that time, it was understood that the North was easily the Republicans’ strong point, while the South was the Democrats’. Initially, the Republicans attempted to use Civil War propaganda to win over the North, ‘waving the bloody shirt’ as they called it. They reminded the people that it was the democrats who were responsible for the secession of the south from the north in 1860. Unfortunately for them, the war having ended 15 years ago, no longer carried the same weight on the people, forcing the Republicans to switch tactics. At the end of the elections, there was only a 2000 vote difference between the two candidates out of the total 9.2 million votes polled. However, there was a vast difference in the Electoral College — 214 to 155 in favor of Garfield.
The Shooting
Charles J. Guiteau was an American writer and lawyer who became famous for having assassinated President Garfield. During the presidential elections of 1880, Guiteau delivered a speech in favor of Garfield. In his opinion, it was his speech that had elevated Garfield to the post of president. He believed that in return for his ‘contribution’ he should be granted a nice diplomatic post in Europe. When Garfield refused his request multiple times, he decided to murder him. Classic right?
On July 2nd 1881, Garfield was scheduled to depart to New Jersey from the Baltimore and Potomac Railway in Baltimore, Maryland. As Garfield was about to board the train with Blaine, his Secretary of State, Guiteau, who had inconspicuously hidden over there, took out his revolver and shot Garfield twice, once in the back and once in the arm. The bullets may not have killed him, but what happened next was truly shocking.
Doctor’s treatment
After shooting Garfield, Guiteau attempted to flee the station, but was captured and taken into custody. The shot at his arm didn’t harm Garfield much, but the shot at the back had pierced into his body and shattered a rib. Garfield was taken into a private office where he was examined by doctors. It is important to note here that at the time, the American doctors did not believe in the idea of germs that had been introduced in the United Kingdom along with the creation of the first antibiotics by Joseph Lister. His theory had not been around for long and could not gain much credibility at the time. So when an injured Garfield was brought in, many doctors began probing his body with unsterilized fingers, searching for the bullet. This probably caused an infection in Garfield. Surprisingly, Alexander Graham Bell, the famed inventor of telephone, set about making something like a metal detector that he believed would help find the bullet. And he made it, although it’s success was dubious.
When Bell came with the contraption in his hands, the lead physician Doctor Willard Bliss (his name was actually Doctor) allowed Bell to search for the bullet only in the area where it had pierced the body. As fate would have it, the bullet was on the other side. Furthermore, the mattress on which Garfield lay contained metal springs. And this mattress wasn’t removed when Bell began using his device. As a result, the mattress messed up the readings of the metal detector and Bell was unable to find the bullet.
There were some attempts to ease the condition of the president. A couple of Navy engineers and scientists together developed one of the first working air conditioning units and placed it in the president’s room to dispel the sweltering heat of the summer. Despite such attempts, Garfield’s condition worsened. Soon an abscess developed over the wound, but the doctor’s still probed for the bullet making the condition worse. On Garfield’s pleas, he was transferred to New Jersey to escape the heat of Washington. Garfield left the White House for the final time on September 5th 1881.
Garfield’s condition never became better and on September 19th 1881, the 20th President of the United States of America breathed his last at the young age of 49. His vice president Chester A. Arthur took the presidential oath on the same day. Guiteau was also hanged on June 30th 1882.
Conclusion
Modern medical research shows that Garfield could have survived had he had access to the modern medical equipment we use today. Had the doctors washed their hands, and had they allowed Bell to search the other part of Garfield’s body, the president may have survived the wound and completed his stipulated term of four years and then retired in peace. In this pandemic, we can take a lesson from the death of President Garfield — germs can kill you so wash your hands!
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