Assassination of President James Garfield

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The assassination of President James A. Garfield was a momentous event that dominated public attention for nearly three months in 1881. William mentioned it in his diary 21 times. While the curt nature of his diary entries may reflect the brevity of Garfield's time in office, they convey more subtly a deep appreciation of a presidency of great but unfulfilled promise.

James Garfield (1831-81) was the 20th president of the United States. He was born into poverty and fatherless at the age of two, but rose quickly in life. A brilliant student, he graduated with honors from Williams College in 1856, became president of a small college in Ohio a year later, and was elected to the Ohio state senate in 1859. A strong opponent of slavery (and later an advocate of black suffrage), he joined the Union army at the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 and was promoted to brigadier general in 1862 after his bold tactics won an important battle. Garfield was elected to Congress in 1862 and served 18 years in the House, becoming a leader of the Republican Party until his election as President in 1880(4, pp. 8-9, 19, 22-8)

Despite his high intelligence, early achievements, and strong leadership abilities, Garfield lost his chance for a bigger place in history when he was assassinated only four months after taking office. He is best known for being shot and taking more than 2½months to die, and thus is generally perceived as one of the obscure "Gilded Age" presidents, along with Rutherford Hayes, Chester Arthur, and Benjamin Harrison.

On the surface, William's diary entries on Garfield are consistent with that historical image. William paid virtually no attention to Garfield until he was shot by a deranged office-seeker, Charles Guiteau, on July 2, 1881. While William briefly noted the facts of Garfield's election in November 1880 and his inauguration the following March, he said not a word about Garfield as a man, the election campaign, or any national political issues of that year.(Diary, 1880-11-02; 1881-03-04. 07-02)

Even after the shooting, William expressed little emotion or reflection about the President and his struggle to live. The diary entries on Garfield are sparse, and interspersed with mundane references to William's daily activities. The only feelings he conveys – in very few words – are hope for Garfield's recovery and concern when his condition deteriorates. Typical were these passages:

* "It is very hot, take 3rd swimbath & Dr. Zinssers medicine in eve'g. President's condition more hopeful. Write in eveg"(Diary, 1881-07-05)

* "Via L. road with wife and RdRt to town. Mary Ruhl with our carriage to Astoria. President Garfield reported as worse. Death of Wm. Marwedel reported at Hamburg last Sunday ....(Diary, 1881-07-12)

* "Very cool, right knee slightly affected. Bad news regarding the President's condition, lunch with RdRt & H. St. at U. Sq. Hotel ...."(Diary, 1881-08-17)

William's reaction to Abraham Lincoln's assassination 16 years earlier was similar, though with far fewer diary entries since Lincoln took only 9 hours to die.(Diary, 1865-04-15; 04-17) Both occasions showed William to be a busy man, taking note of major events but focusing on personal matters related to his family and business.

Garfield's assassination, however, held William's close attention. He recorded 17 diary entries on the shooting and the subsequent ups and downs of the President's medical condition before he died on September 19. And despite the cursory nature of the diary's remarks on Garfield, the frequency of the entries suggest that William was moved by something deeper than his natural interest as an American in a presidential assassination.

The most obvious factor affecting William was the length and drama of Garfield's struggle to survive his wound. As The New York Times noted, the President's summer-long fight "entered into the daily life of the people.... the whole conduct of the case has been subject to the enormous magnifying glass of daily newspaper record."(7)

A second factor that must have motivated William was admiration for Garfield's character. While William was a Democrat and thus not a political supporter of the President, he likely was well aware of the positive feelings Garfield had aroused throughout the country. The abundant press coverage of the President's battle to live brought forth much reflection on his estimable personal qualities and his rise from humble origins. Within two days of the shooting The New York Times noted "the peculiar tenderness and affection with which the public have spoken of the President .... [M]ost observers were not prepared for ... [the] wide outburst of unreserved sympathy and downright love for Mr. Garfield." The Times attributed these feelings to "the essential rectitude of the President's character," the fact that he had chosen a Cabinet of "undoubted ability and elevation of purpose," his "courageous yet discreet" relations with Congress, and his "dignified" behavior. All these qualities, The Times said, had "given rise to a very strong sentiment of respect and confidence in the public mind."(6)

William may also have been touched by Garfield's impact on promoting reconciliation between the North and South after the Civil War. The President's abolitionist views had won him the support of former slaves, and his advocacy of education and economic development in the South had gained him popularity in that region.(4, pp. 181-3, 248) Two weeks after the shooting, former Confederate President Jefferson Davis said "such a crime makes the whole Nation kin.... The South had much hope of Mr. Garfield's Administration, and ... joins in the national sorrow over the assault on his life."(2) A few days later The New York Times observed that the attack on Garfield "revealed the renewed kinship of the North and South as parts of one Nation and one people .... The people [in the South] felt, as they had not felt before for years, that the Government at whose head the blow of the assassin was aimed was their Government ... and that the chief magistrate of the country had an equal claim on the loyal affection of the whole people."(5) After Garfield died, many former Confederates wrote condolence letters to Mrs. Garfield of the admiration and hopes they had felt for the late President.(1)

Other factors that almost certainly attracted William's interest were the sad state of Garfield's health after he was shot and the intensive medical care he received. As the President lingered for more than eleven weeks before succumbing to rampant infection, the press reported continually on his condition. As The Times noted, "every symptom has been tabulated and every phase of a long illness noted and commented upon."(7) The tragedy of Garfield's death is that it was avoidable. As the eventual autopsy revealed, the bullet was safely encapsulated in his abdomen. His doctors, making frequent unsterilized probes of his wound in an effort to find the bullet, introduced the bacterial infection that killed him.(4, pp. 231-2, 253) While European advances in antiseptic medicine were not yet accepted in the United States, there was some contemporary criticism of the President's treatment. The day after he died, The New York Times endorsed the view of the large majority of doctors that Garfield had received the best possible care, but it acknowledged that some people "will persist in the belief that had the President received less medical attention he would have lived."(4, pp. 14-15, 156-8)(7) Although infection ravaged most of Garfield's body, he bore his suffering remarkably well. The Times referred to the President's "perfect composure and fortitude," his "brave struggle," his "nobility and simplicity and solid excellence."(6)(7) For William – who was plagued by a variety of health problems which he mentioned often in his diary(3) – Garfield's suffering probably seemed painfully familiar. Whether or not he identified with the President, William must have felt great sympathy for Garfield and admiration for his fortitude.

The above suggestions may be somewhat speculative in the absence of explicit evidence in William's diary. But given the broad expanse of William's life and career – his deep roots in Europe and America, his leading role in music and business, his active involvement in politics and public service, and his numerous diary references to what he read in a variety of newspapers – it is reasonable to believe he was more deeply informed about Garfield than the diary indicates.

Indeed, the diary's last five Garfield entries – those after the President died – offer some hint that William genuinely shared the national grief. On September 20 he reported the "Terrible news" of Garfield's death and the "Great Excitement and sorrow all over town;" he also mentioned that Steinway Hall was draped in black and that he and fellow attendees at a Liederkranz meeting that night "rise from our seats in token of respect for the dead President."(Diary, 1881-09-20) The following day he wrote that the "Mourning drapery of Steinway Hall looks beautiful."(Diary, 1881-09-21) On September 26 he noted that Garfield's funeral was observed as a "Day of prayer and fasting".(Diary, 1881-09-26) The next day brought his final, almost poetic, Garfield entry: "At last a few drops of rain fall, just after taking down the mourning decorations from Steinway Hall."(Diary, 1881-09-27)
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Sources:
1. Gephardt, Alan (National Park Ranger at the Garfield Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio). Conversation with author, March 21, 2015.
2. "Jefferson Davis on Guiteau's Crime," The New York Times, July 16, 1881, p. 3.
3. Lum, Milton. "Power Point Report on William Steinway's Medical Issues," 2012, Steinway Diary Project files.
4. Millard, Candice. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine & the Murder of a President, New York: Doubleday, 2011.
5. "Southern Sympathy," The New York Times, July 20, 1881, p. 4.
6. "The Feeling Toward the President," The New York Times, July 4, 1881, p. 4.
7. Untitled editorial, The New York Times, September 20, 1881, p. 4.