About this episode

This episode discusses the medical mismanagement that led to the death of President James Garfield after his assassination.

Mere minutes after the shooting, a doctor arrived on the scene. Using his ungloved, unwashed fingers, he dug into President James Garfield’s bullet wound. The doctor hoped to retrieve the bullet. That would prove a common theme in the president’s medical care. As James Garfield struggled to survive, doctors obsessed over retrieving the bullet. They subjected him to daily examinations — always with unsanitized tools and unwashed hands. Those examinations caused him tremendous suffering. They ultimately killed him. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from: The book, “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President,” by Candice Millard The book, “Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield,” by Kenneth D. Ackerman “Murder of a President” documentary and additional resources from PBS.org “‘As a Matter of Fact, I Presume I Shall Live to be President’”: A Brief Biographical Sketch of Garfield’s Assassin” from the National Park Service “Assassination and Insanity in Gilded Age America,” by Winston Bowman Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please…

People in this episode

Host: Kristin

Topics covered

• medical history
• presidential assassination
• Gilded Age
• infection
• true crime
• historical analysis

Keywords

• James Garfield
• assassination
• infection
• medical care
• historical sources
• Gilded Age

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PBS.org, National Park Service

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