Charles J. Guiteau
Charles Julius Guiteau (born September 8, 1841 in Freeport , Illinois , † June 30, 1882 in Washington, DC ) was an American assassin. He shot the 20th US President James A. Garfield , who later died as a result of the injuries he suffered.
Life
Guiteau did not have a permanent job, but essentially lived on his grandfather's inheritance. He had briefly joined the Oneida Community , a millenarian religious community in New York State , and spread their worldview in several writings. He appeared in a newspaper article for the candidate and eventual winner of the elections, James A. Garfield , prior to the US presidency elections of 1880 . After the election, he sent the President several letters in which he gave advice on how to conduct his office. In addition, in order to help him win the election, he first asked for the post of ambassador abroad, then for the post of consul general in Paris . When his letters went unanswered because those responsible knew his mental health was compromised, he decided in his resentment to assassinate the president.
On July 2, 1881, he shot James Abram Garfield twice with a revolver when he was about to go on vacation with his two sons from Pennsylvania Station in Washington, DC. One bullet hit the president's arm and the other hit the back. Garfield survived seriously injured but died of wound poisoning on September 19, 1881.
After the fact, Guiteau issued a “Proclamation to the American People” in which he stated: “God has called me to be his tool to rid the people of a pest!” He hoped to become so famous by the act that he himself would be elected president. All the greater were his astonishment and disappointment at the public outrage and the fact that he was arrested shortly after the crime.
Subsequent investigations revealed that Guiteau had tried to murder his sister with a hoe a few years ago and that mental illness was common in his family. As a result, after the initial examinations, he was found to be insane .
The main opinion in the process recognized him as fully sane. The jury ignored several dissenting opinions from doctors and criminologists under public pressure. Equally futile was Guiteau's objection that the President died from treating doctors who did not use sterile instruments. The jury's deliberation lasted an hour, then the verdict was unanimous: death by hanging.
Guiteau was hanged on June 30, 1882 . Sobbing under the gallows , he sang: "I'm very happy, I'm going to God, Glory Hallelujah!"
Subsequent research showed that his brain was badly damaged. There was severe atrophy of the outer cerebral cortex and degenerative changes in the deeper areas, which according to the law of the time could mean insanity. Portions of his brain are kept in the Mothers Museum in Philadelphia and the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, DC .
Quote about him
He's no more insane than I am. There's nothing of the mad about Guiteau: he's a cool, calculating blackguard, a polished ruffian, who has gradually prepared himself to pose in this way before the world. He was a deadbeat, pure and simple. Finally, he got tired of the monotony of deadbeating. He wanted excitement of some other kind and notoriety, and he got it ..
“He's no crazier than I am. There's nothing crazy about Guiteau: he's a cool, calculating rascal, a polished ruffian who has prepared to present himself to the world like that. He was a crazy existence, plain and simple. Ultimately, he got bored with the hustle and bustle and wanted some excitement, and that's what he got. "
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literature
- A complete history of the trial of Charles Julius Guiteau, assassin of President Garfield. As edited from the stenographic reports of Henry G. and Charles J. Hayes . Hubbard, Philadelphia 1882.
- James C. Clark: The murder of James A. Garfield. The president's last days and the trial and execution of his assassin . New edition McFarland, Jefferson, NC 1993, ISBN 0-89950-910-X .
- Charles E. Rosenberg: The trial of the assassin Guiteau. Psychiatry and law in the Gilded Age . 5th ed. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill. 1995, ISBN 0-226-72717-3 .
Web links
- Charles Guiteau (Garfield Assassination) Trial 1881-82 , University of Missouri-Kansas City
- National Museum of Health and Medicine
Individual evidence
- ^ Millard, Candice (2011). Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President (Hardcover ed.). Button Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-385-52626-5 , page 248
- ^ "Charles Guiteau Trial: 1881". Great American Trials. New England Publishing. 1994. Pages 187-191.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Guiteau, Charles J. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Guiteau, Charles Julius (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American criminal, murderer of President James A. Garfield |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 8, 1841 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Freeport , Illinois |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 30, 1882 |
| Place of death | Washington, DC |