S3 Ep16: Going to the Lordy: The Assassination of President James Garfield

Crimes of the Centuries

Amber Hunt and Audioboom

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture, History

4.6 • 3.8K Ratings

🗓️ 10 July 2023

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

At 9:30 am on July 2, 1881 in Washington, D.C., the 20th American president James Garfield was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station. Garfield's assassin: Charles J. Guiteau, a man described as awkward, insecure, and mentally disturbed. Guiteau was motivated by revenge after falsely believing he played a major role in Garfield's election victory, and never being rewarded for it. In today's episode we explore the lives and careers of both Garfield and Guiteau, and what led to the second assassination of an American president.

"Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from the Obsessed Network exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history.

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @centuriespod

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Some crimes are so heartbreaking or shocking that they change laws, change society, or even
0:14.5	earn the label crime of the century.
0:18.5	But the stories that made headlines and decades passed aren't necessarily remembered today.
0:25.1	I remember Hunt, a journalist and author, and in each episode of this show, I'll examine
0:30.2	a case that's maybe lesser known today, but was huge when it happened.
0:36.7	This is crimes of the centuries.
0:41.9	Charles Gatoe had big plans on July 2nd, a Saturday.
0:54.6	The plans were so big that he had trouble sleeping the night before.
0:58.6	He awoke at 4 in the morning, feeling great, full of anticipation.
1:03.2	He got dressed in dark trousers, a black coat, and a soft black hat.
1:08.0	Then a breakfast at the hotel where he'd been staying.
1:11.0	He charged the meal to his room.
1:13.1	After that, he headed over to the train station where he hoped to cross paths with one of the nation's
1:18.7	most famous men. As he waited for that to happen, he got a shoes blackened,
1:24.6	some last minute crimping to prep before the big encounter.
1:27.9	He wanted to look his best, after all. Even though the year was 1881 and fast-term photography
1:34.6	wasn't a thing yet, he still expected that he'd be the talk of the town after this morning
1:39.5	and wanted to make sure that the stories were flattering.
1:43.2	At about 9.20 in the morning, Charles found his seat in the corner of the lady's waiting room
1:48.1	and mentally prepared himself. Soon, he saw the man he had hoped would show up.
1:53.9	President James A. Garfield. Gatoe had spent so much time preparing for this encounter
2:00.6	that his motions were almost as if automated by the time it happened.
	...

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