Wednesday; October 11
On July 2, 1881 President James Garfield was shot in Washington D. C. by Charles Guiteau. There are several interesting aspects to this shooting – one was that President Garfield had been on the job for less than four months – but, the most compelling might be that had lived for seventy-nine days after being shot. It wasn’t until September 19, 1881 that President Garfield succumbed to his injuries. If you study this event in history a thought-provoking side note is how the medical practices of the day are often blamed for the president’s death. In light of today’s advanced practices, many of the things done in 1881 were rudimentary at best and dangerous at worst. I guess it is important to learn from history so that we don’t repeat it, but this is also vital to remember that “medicine” was not ultimately responsible for his death, the culpability lay squarely on the shoulders of his shooter. The person accountable for the death of President Garfield was not a doctor who treated