About the Program
Candice Millard recounts the assassination of America's 20th President James Garfield. The author reports that four months after taking office President Garfield was fired upon twice by Charles Guiteau on July 2, 1881. The President was not killed by the initial attack but severely wounded. Ms. Millard examines the rudimentary medical care that President Garfield received, which included Alexander Graham Bell's attempts to find the bullets lodged in Garfield's body with an induction-balance electrical device. The author also recounts the political maneuverings for control of the government following the assassination and the trial of Charles Guiteau, who claimed an insanity defense. President James Garfield died from infection and an internal hemorrhage from his wounds on September 19, 1881. Candice Millard speaks at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio.