You have to be a pretty crazy person to assassinate a United States President. But, for Charles J Guiteau, the man who assassinated the 20th President James A. Garfield, the assassination of the president was the least crazy thing he ever did. From a shady political career to cult ties to ax-wielding outbursts, Charles J Guiteau was certainly unhinged. He was so insane that his lawyers made the first-ever insanity plea while representing him in court following his assassination of President Garfield. This is the story of the absolutely crazy life that Charles J Guiteau lived.
The Early Life of Charles J Guiteau
Guiteau was brought up in the midwest as one of six children during the mid-1800s. After losing his grandfather, he inherited $1,000, which is equivalent to almost $30k today. Charles took his inheritance to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in hopes of attending the University of Michigan. However, he failed the entrance exam because his education had only provided him with a knowledge of French and algebra. He then moved to Oneida, New York, where he joined a cult.
Photo provided by Wikipedia
Charles J Get Out
In New York, Guiteau joined the ubiquitous religious group known as the Oneida Community. The group, later labeled a cult, was known for its controversial views on marriage and perfection. The founder, John Humphry Noyes, believed that people had the ability to attain perfection. The cultist would gather to relentlessly point out each other’s flaws week in and week to maintain their sinful lifestyles. On more than one occasion, Charles had taken this practice too far and eventually earned himself the nickname Charles J Gitout, a clear play on his name. The strained relationship with other cult members eventually led Guiteau to leave the group on more than one occasion. After 5 years with the Oneida Community, Charles J Guiteau left for good.
Low Bar for the Law Bar
Charles J Guiteau found himself at a crossroads in life after leaving the Oneida Community. He had no home, no education, and no real work experience. So what was there for him to do now?
He ended up moving to Chicago and found employment at a local law firm. While there, he began studying law and managed to pass the cursory exam into the bar. With his newly minted credentials as a lawyer, Guiteau began to try to work his way into this lucrative industry. Unfortunately, Charles only argued one court in the case and failed to find work after that. It is not clear what happened that day in court—his lack of work after is pretty clear, though.
Charles Get Bills
After his short stint with a career in law, Charles became a bill collector. However, Guiteau stuck to the character in this line of work and rarely returned the fees he collected to his clients. Eventually, bill collectors started coming after him to collect the funds from the bills that Charles had collected. To evade his mounting debts, Charles moved to New York City in 1872.
Politics Take 1
Shortly after moving to New York City, Charles J Guiteau found himself in need of another career change. This time he turned to politics. He sided with the democratic party and began writing speeches for then-presidential candidate Horace Greeley. During the campaign, he became convinced that Greeley would grant him a role as minister to Chile. Unfortunately, this was a baseless belief, and Greeley’s loss to Ulysses S. Grant solidified that Guiteau would miss his opportunity to become minister to Chile.
A Career in Theology
A trend was beginning to take shape in the life of Charles Guiteau. After a few short years in a career that he was unqualified for, Charles once again was forced to forge a new path. This time he chose to pursue theology. He wrote a book title The Truth that was a near-complete copy of the writings of his former cult leader John Humphry Noyes. Despite being a plagiarist, Charles convinced himself that he was a divine messenger from God. His own father disagreed and called him possessed. Guiteau took his new religious fervor and traveled the nation preaching his new gospel.
Politics Take 2
While on a steamship in the Connecticut river Guiteau survived a crash that caused the sinking of another ship. He took his survival in the incident as a sign that he was meant for a higher purpose. Rather than the obvious answer of this purpose is to continue preaching the gospel he had been plagiarizing, he once again shifted careers. This time he found himself back in the political sphere.
He sided with the republican party and began writing speeches for Ulysses S Grant’s campaign for a third term. After James A Garfield won the Republican nomination, Guiteau shifted his allegiance to Garfield and began repurposing the speeches he wrote for Grant to be used by Garfield. When Garfield won the election, Charles believed it was his work writing speeches that earned Garfield the victory and began asking for the consulship in Vienna or Paris.
Guiteau vs. Garfield
It became quickly apparent that Garfield would not grant Charles with his request for the consulship. This fact caused Guiteau to snap. The man bought a revolver with an ivory grip because “it would look better in a museum.” Thus, on July 2nd, 1881, Charles J Guiteau shot the President. Although the injuries did not initially kill Garfield, the infections that followed led to the death of the United State’s 20th president.
Conclusion
The defense of Charles J Guiteau had a mountain to climb to make a case for their client. Not only had he taken the life of the leader of the nation, but he had a history full of crime. He had even taken an ax to his own sister. Then his lawyers devised a brilliant plan, insanity. They pleaded, for the first time, that their client acted out of insanity. Unfortunately, it was not enough to save him, and he was eventually hanged on June 30th, 1882. In perfect irony, after years on display, the Smithsonian somehow lost the ivory gripped handgun used in the assassination. The life of Charles J Guiteau was insane, so it’s only fair that his life would birth the legal method known as the insanity plea.
Learn more about the absolutely bonkers life of Charles J Guiteau in this episode of Things I Learned Last Night. Things I Learned Last Night is an educational comedy podcast where best friends Jaron Myers and Tim Stone talk about random topics and have fun all along the way. If you like learning, and laughing a whole lot while you do, then you’ll love TILLN. Watch or listen to this episode right now!
Sources
Related Episodes
Tell Us What You Think of This Content!
Don’t forget to share with your friends!