Episode 4: Garfield & Guiteau - An Assassin's Trial
The United States v. Charles Guiteau
In 1881, President James Garfield was assassinated by a man named Charles Guiteau. The American public, understandably, wanted vengeance. But as the government began to prepare for Guiteau’s trial, a problem emerged: Guiteau, some experts believed, was insane, and might not have been responsible for his actions. Could justice be achieved in a case like this? Guiteau's dramatic trial put that question to the test...
Episode Resources
Episode Transcript
Works Cited/
Referenced
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H.H. Alexander, The Life of Guiteau and the Official History of the Most Exciting Case on Record: Being The Trial of Guiteau for Assassinating Pres. Garfield (Philadelphia: National Publishing Company, 1882).
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Todd Arrington, “Stalwarts, Half Breeds, and Political Assassination,” Garfield Observer, James A. Garfield National Historic Site, 2012.
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John Bucknill, Unsoundness of Mind in Relation to Criminal Acts (London: Samuel Highley, 1854).
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“From Daniel M’Naughten to John Hinckley: A Brief History of the Insanity Defense,” Frontline, PBS.
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James A. Garfield, in a speech to Williams College alumni, March 3, 1881, quoted in Donet D. Graves, Esq., “James A. Garfield and a Black Washingtonian, Part II,” Garfield Observer, James A. Garfield National Historic Site, June 2014.
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Henry F. Graff, “Forgotten Tragedy,” New York Times, September 8, 1968.
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James H. Herndon, “Ignorance is Bliss,” The Harvard Orthopaedic Journal, Vol. 15, December 2013.
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Candice Millard, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of the President (New York: Doubleday, 2011).
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Charlotte Muth, “The Witnesses,” WETA: Boundary Stones, November 23, 2020.
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Brian Resnick, “This is the Brain that Shot President James Garfield,” The Atlantic, October 4, 2015.
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Charles E. Rosenberg, The Trial of the Assassin Guiteau: Psychiatry and Law in the Gilded Age (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968).
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Linda Sanabria, “The Irresistible Impulse Test,” FindLaw, December 5, 2023.
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“The story of the balloting,” New York Times, June 9, 1880.
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Samuel Strom, “The Durham Rule,” FindLaw, November 30, 2023.
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Samuel Strom, “The M’Naghten Rule,” FindLaw, November 30, 2023.