Hiatus Update! – How Did We Not Know That
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Show Notes
Most Americans are familiar with the assassinations of JFK and Lincoln, but what about James Garfield? Despite the fact that he was considered to be one of the most promising presidents of his time, his life and unfortunate death is mostly forgotten today. In the Season 1 finale, Nat covers the assassination of President James Garfield and the man who was insane enough to carry out the deed.
Sources:
- https://www.history.com/news/the-assassination-of-president-james-a-garfield
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/garfield-assassination-altered-american-history-woefully-forgotten-today-180968319/
- https://daily.jstor.org/the-unexpected-impact-of-james-garfields-assassination/
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/dirty-painful-death-president-james-garfield
Transcript
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hi everyone welcome back to another
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episode of how did we not know that
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my name’s jack i’m nat
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and today is our season finale
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so nat is going to present on the last
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topic for season one
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yeah so we started with an
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assassination story and we’re ending
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with an assassination story
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so today i’ll be talking about the
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assassination of president james
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garfield
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and this story like it’s literally so
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wild
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so before i get into it jack what do you
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know
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about president garfield um i’m trying
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to think
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because someone gets assassinated
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towards the end of the
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gilded age and then that did he get
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assassinated in the gilded age
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it’s like he’s assassinated in 1881
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okay so i think this is the one where
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after he’s actually think i know a bit
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about this
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because i was gonna cover it but then he
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basically got didn’t get shot at like a
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train station
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and this was and then it led to a bunch
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of civil reform because it was a time
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where everyone just had like one term as
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president
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yeah yeah like i think in the
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gilded age episode you talked about the
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patronage and spoil system right
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so there’s a lot of reforms about that
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system like because of president
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garfield and he was like really
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progressive about
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like yeah okay it’s reform and
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everything yeah so
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okay he said i’m out i literally
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like i had heard his name before but i
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don’t think i knew
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anything about him until i started doing
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research on this
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um but now that i’ve done my research
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i’m actually a huge garfield fan
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this dude is amazing and like i don’t
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know why we don’t talk about it more um
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so let’s get right into it so
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james at the time considered president
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garfield to be
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like one of the most promising
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presidents of era
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he was born to a poor family in ohio
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shout out to ohio and he was actually
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the last president to be born in a log
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cabin
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so like that’s how long ago this was um
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he worked his way through college he
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attended williams college
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and then he was a professor at ohio’s
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eclectic
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university which is now known as like i
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think it’s hiram college i don’t know
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how to pronounce it hiram college maybe
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i’ve literally never heard of that
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university i’ve never heard of it either
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but he also like became president of
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this university
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so that’s cool to see like how much he
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like
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he appreciates education and he’s also
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a lifelong abolitionist so he fought to
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end
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slavery and wow in general
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during the civil war so he like is
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an amazing man yeah solid this is like
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unheard of for this time period
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i know i’m like what the heck how did i
0:03:05.680,0:03:08.720
not
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know this and then he later he decided
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to go into politics right
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so in 1863 he was elected to serve
0:03:13.599,0:03:18.000
as an ohio congressman and he was a
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super big deal in the house
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of representatives and he played a big
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role
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in like almost every major issue of the
0:03:24.159,0:03:26.720
time
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people really respected him and he
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helped win the passage of the 14th and
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the 15th amendments which guaranteed
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equal rights for freed slaves
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so we love that what a progressive man
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what a decent human being
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and he was also just like known as a
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really
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great person overall he is described
0:03:44.480,0:03:48.879
as having like a great amount of energy
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eloquence and charm
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he had five children and he was a really
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good dad
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he loved to play with his children and
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spent so much time with them
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which is like super unique i guess for
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this time period i feel like this is
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like the time period
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where like people think children should
0:04:04.080,0:04:09.040
be seen not heard and like it’s very
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like strict you know like i don’t think
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you yeah
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they’re children back then but he was
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like such a good father
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and this is so sad that he
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dies in this episode you’re really
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hyping him up
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i know that as i was reading this i was
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like no
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not well i think this is so sad i wish
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they had a different ending
0:04:28.080,0:04:35.919
but a spoiler alert like he dies
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but in 1881 he was elected as president
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he was a member of the republican party
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and he became the 20th president and he
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was only
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49 years old when he was elected and
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that made him the third
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youngest president when he took office
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so he was just a super young
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progressive guy and so he
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assumes office he becomes president and
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sadly
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his presidency only lasts four months
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and it actually yeah i know it’s like
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it’s really really short and really sad
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but his presidency actually had kind of
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a rocky
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beginning because he wanted to make
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really progressive changes right away
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and his biggest focus as soon as he
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assumed office was to
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eradicate the patronage and spoil system
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that was dominating the us government
0:05:23.280,0:05:26.320
so jack kind of mentioned it in a
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previous episode
0:05:26.320,0:05:30.720
in our last episode about the gilded age
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but just as a refresher
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the patronage system is when a political
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party
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gives important influential seats in
0:05:36.960,0:05:41.520
government to its donors and supporters
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as a like a reward
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and it’s also an incentive to like have
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them keep working for the party
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so obviously like that’s not great
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because
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they’re being rewarded for their
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donations and that
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their merit so president garfield was
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like
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uh no this is no bueno himself
0:06:00.479,0:06:04.960
he like had he clashed with a lot of
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wealthy republicans who were trying to
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buy their way into
0:06:06.000,0:06:09.600
his administration and these wealthy
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republicans were
0:06:09.600,0:06:13.680
pretty upset because they had donated a
0:06:11.680,0:06:15.120
lot of money to his campaign and they
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were like okay like give me
0:06:15.120,0:06:19.120
give me the power now and he’s like no
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no thank you
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and so they were like really mad at him
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i met at him
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but garfield was so determined to
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get rid of corruption in order to clear
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the way
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for policies focus on civil rights
0:06:32.240,0:06:39.520
education and economic growth
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so oh my gosh i’m i love this man
0:06:39.600,0:06:44.880
on top of all this like so he’s fighting
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with all of his wealthy supporters
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and then um to top it off like his wife
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lucretia almost dies from malaria like
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his first few months
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in office um yeah oh my gosh
0:06:56.080,0:06:59.440
he’s like going through a lot well
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besides like i mean he hasn’t been
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assassinated yet but he goes through a
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lot
0:07:02.560,0:07:05.840
yeah it’s about to get worse for him but
0:07:04.639,0:07:09.120
like so far
0:07:05.840,0:07:12.479
it’s not super great um and so
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on july 2nd 1881
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president james garfield was leaving
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washington dc
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to take a much-needed vacation in new
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england he just needed
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a break and he was so excited because he
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was bringing his two teenage sons with
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him
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and his good friend secretary of state
0:07:28.160,0:07:32.479
james
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g blaine and he was also planning on
0:07:32.479,0:07:36.960
giving a speech to his alma mater
0:07:34.639,0:07:38.720
williams college so he was really
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looking forward to this vacation
0:07:38.720,0:07:41.759
so he leaves the white house and he
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takes a carriage ride
0:07:41.759,0:07:44.879
to the baltimore and potomac train
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station
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where he would leave for new england
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uh and for those of you who are like
0:07:50.080,0:07:54.000
familiar with washington dc
0:07:52.160,0:07:55.520
the train station no longer exists today
0:07:54.000,0:07:58.639
but it was located
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near the national mall also just like a
0:07:58.639,0:08:01.759
side note when i was doing my research
0:08:00.160,0:08:03.440
i’m like wow he took a carriage ride i’m
0:08:01.759,0:08:06.080
like obviously that makes sense because
0:08:03.440,0:08:09.120
it’s 1881 but in my head i was like
0:08:06.080,0:08:12.639
that’s like so ancient he’s an
0:08:09.120,0:08:14.639
ancient guy yeah right and
0:08:12.639,0:08:16.879
okay so president garfield he wasn’t
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accompanied by any bodyguards or
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security
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because like at the time they didn’t
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they weren’t as worried about
0:08:22.960,0:08:27.039
assassination attempts yeah like you
0:08:25.360,0:08:29.680
said in the
0:08:27.039,0:08:31.120
uh assassination or william mckinley was
0:08:29.680,0:08:33.039
assassinated episode
0:08:31.120,0:08:35.599
that wasn’t a thing to have secret
0:08:33.039,0:08:38.320
service until after his assassination
0:08:35.599,0:08:39.279
so it’s like non-existent for garfield
0:08:38.320,0:08:42.880
as well
0:08:39.279,0:08:44.320
yeah yeah so like uh james garfield
0:08:42.880,0:08:45.680
would be the second president to be
0:08:44.320,0:08:48.959
assassinated and then it was
0:08:45.680,0:08:51.440
it isn’t it for it isn’t until after
0:08:48.959,0:08:52.959
president mckinley the third president
0:08:51.440,0:08:56.240
to be assassinated where they’re like
0:08:52.959,0:08:59.040
oh maybe we should get some
0:08:56.240,0:09:00.720
security on these guys but yeah also
0:08:59.040,0:09:02.160
it’s just like so crazy about it’s crazy
0:09:00.720,0:09:04.640
to think about
0:09:02.160,0:09:05.519
like man how much has changed from 1881
0:09:04.640,0:09:09.760
to today
0:09:05.519,0:09:13.120
because uh like a few in 2016 i saw
0:09:09.760,0:09:15.440
president barack obama speak at ohio
0:09:13.120,0:09:17.519
and i like attended yeah i saw his
0:09:15.440,0:09:20.080
speech and there was so
0:09:17.519,0:09:21.200
much security at that whole event and it
0:09:20.080,0:09:24.320
was like
0:09:21.200,0:09:27.120
super scary and intimidating um
0:09:24.320,0:09:28.080
but also okay not to get too much into
0:09:27.120,0:09:31.200
rant
0:09:28.080,0:09:32.640
um i guess our level of security
0:09:31.200,0:09:35.120
that we’re used to seeing around the
0:09:32.640,0:09:36.320
president isn’t necessarily like a
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global norm
0:09:36.320,0:09:40.640
so when i was in canada like working in
0:09:38.880,0:09:42.959
the canadian government
0:09:40.640,0:09:44.399
i would just see prime minister justin
0:09:42.959,0:09:46.399
trudeau like
0:09:44.399,0:09:47.839
crossing the street to go to like center
0:09:46.399,0:09:49.760
block which is like the main he would go
0:09:47.839,0:09:51.279
from the prime minister’s office to the
0:09:49.760,0:09:52.640
main parliament building
0:09:51.279,0:09:55.360
i would just like see him i’m like yeah
0:09:52.640,0:09:55.839
there’d be a couple like security guys
0:09:55.360,0:09:59.680
with him
0:09:55.839,0:09:59.680
obviously but like yeah
0:09:59.839,0:10:02.880
yeah actually same with new zealand i
0:10:02.320,0:10:05.360
remember
0:10:02.880,0:10:07.760
on their anzac day which is similar to
0:10:05.360,0:10:10.160
our memorial day in the united states
0:10:07.760,0:10:11.920
jacinda arden the prime minister of new
0:10:10.160,0:10:14.560
zealand was just right there
0:10:11.920,0:10:15.279
watching like the anzac parade and
0:10:14.560,0:10:17.360
everything
0:10:15.279,0:10:18.720
i was like i could talk to her right now
0:10:17.360,0:10:21.279
i have never seen
0:10:18.720,0:10:22.640
like any of our presidents this close
0:10:21.279,0:10:23.680
and just cinda’s just sitting right
0:10:22.640,0:10:26.640
there
0:10:23.680,0:10:28.000
dude that’s so exciting and that’s so
0:10:26.640,0:10:29.440
it’s like just so wild
0:10:28.000,0:10:31.120
i can’t think of a better word for it
0:10:29.440,0:10:33.600
but it’s so wild like
0:10:31.120,0:10:35.680
i saw like prime minister trudeau like
0:10:33.600,0:10:37.279
exiting the restroom one time and i was
0:10:35.680,0:10:39.760
just like what the heck
0:10:37.279,0:10:41.839
and like actually the most amount of
0:10:39.760,0:10:42.720
security i ever encountered in canada
0:10:41.839,0:10:45.519
was with
0:10:42.720,0:10:46.000
when vice president mike pence he
0:10:45.519,0:10:47.920
visited
0:10:46.000,0:10:50.720
canada and there was like the whole
0:10:47.920,0:10:54.560
street was like shut down and i was like
0:10:50.720,0:10:58.079
wow how much we have like changed since
0:10:54.560,0:10:58.720
james garfield to today yeah i wonder if
0:10:58.079,0:11:01.680
any of
0:10:58.720,0:11:03.680
these other countries have had like
0:11:01.680,0:11:04.800
multiple assassinations of their leaders
0:11:03.680,0:11:07.360
though because
0:11:04.800,0:11:08.079
yeah by the third one we’re like okay
0:11:07.360,0:11:11.200
maybe
0:11:08.079,0:11:13.440
it’s a dangerous position i don’t know i
0:11:11.200,0:11:14.240
yeah i think it depends like on the
0:11:13.440,0:11:16.320
region
0:11:14.240,0:11:18.000
in the country but like did there have
0:11:16.320,0:11:20.560
been countries like where there are like
0:11:18.000,0:11:21.519
military coups and like completely over
0:11:20.560,0:11:24.480
the
0:11:21.519,0:11:25.680
government too so i don’t know yeah i
0:11:24.480,0:11:28.880
just don’t know yeah i’d
0:11:25.680,0:11:30.000
like to compare standards of security
0:11:28.880,0:11:31.440
details for
0:11:30.000,0:11:33.279
government leaders around the world i
0:11:31.440,0:11:36.560
think it’d be interesting to
0:11:33.279,0:11:39.839
see the differences but yeah
0:11:36.560,0:11:43.279
so anyway um at 9
0:11:39.839,0:11:43.920
20 a.m president garfield entered the
0:11:43.279,0:11:45.920
station
0:11:43.920,0:11:47.839
and he’s walking arm-in-arm with his
0:11:45.920,0:11:51.120
friend secretary blaine
0:11:47.839,0:11:54.800
and as the men were crossing the lobby
0:11:51.120,0:11:56.959
charles j bruto gutel
0:11:54.800,0:11:58.480
yeah it’s a french last name i think i’m
0:11:56.959,0:12:01.519
pronouncing it right hopefully
0:11:58.480,0:12:02.000
but he sneaks up behind the two men and
0:12:01.519,0:12:04.959
he
0:12:02.000,0:12:06.160
drew his pistol and a witness would
0:12:04.959,0:12:09.600
later recall that
0:12:06.160,0:12:11.839
gutel’s eyes were steady and quote
0:12:09.600,0:12:13.680
his face presented the appearance of a
0:12:11.839,0:12:16.320
brave man who is determined
0:12:13.680,0:12:17.680
upon a desperate deed and meant to do it
0:12:16.320,0:12:20.880
calmly and well
0:12:17.680,0:12:21.920
unquote so guto fired two shots at the
0:12:20.880,0:12:24.000
president from
0:12:21.920,0:12:26.240
point blank rage range which we
0:12:24.000,0:12:28.240
discovered in our first episode is like
0:12:26.240,0:12:30.480
from right in front of you like directly
0:12:28.240,0:12:32.160
yeah like directly on your like skin or
0:12:30.480,0:12:34.000
something not skin but like directly
0:12:32.160,0:12:36.959
touching like your body
0:12:34.000,0:12:38.639
yeah like you’re super close um and so
0:12:36.959,0:12:41.040
the first bullet
0:12:38.639,0:12:41.839
grace garfield’s right arm and he
0:12:41.040,0:12:45.360
shouted
0:12:41.839,0:12:48.480
my god what is this um just so
0:12:45.360,0:12:51.120
like it’s so sad he was like like so
0:12:48.480,0:12:52.079
shocked obviously yeah his kids are with
0:12:51.120,0:12:55.200
him too
0:12:52.079,0:12:56.320
right yeah his kids are in the lobby not
0:12:55.200,0:12:59.360
directly next to him
0:12:56.320,0:13:00.959
but okay this train station but he’s
0:12:59.360,0:13:04.079
directly next to his friend
0:13:00.959,0:13:04.560
secretary of state james blaine and the
0:13:04.079,0:13:07.760
second
0:13:04.560,0:13:10.399
bullet that pluto shot was more accurate
0:13:07.760,0:13:10.880
and it struck president garfield’s lower
0:13:10.399,0:13:13.839
back
0:13:10.880,0:13:14.240
which knocked him to the floor and yeah
0:13:13.839,0:13:16.800
it was
0:13:14.240,0:13:17.680
so sad and immediately the station lobby
0:13:16.800,0:13:20.000
is filled with
0:13:17.680,0:13:21.440
screams from terrified and panicked
0:13:20.000,0:13:23.200
bystanders
0:13:21.440,0:13:24.959
and guteo actually tried to flee the
0:13:23.200,0:13:27.600
station but a man
0:13:24.959,0:13:28.639
blocked the door and then a ticket agent
0:13:27.600,0:13:30.560
and a police officer
0:13:28.639,0:13:31.760
came and grabbed him so he couldn’t
0:13:30.560,0:13:34.399
leave and
0:13:31.760,0:13:35.360
gutel is immediately surrounded by an
0:13:34.399,0:13:37.839
angry mob of
0:13:35.360,0:13:38.560
bystanders and they’re all shouting
0:13:37.839,0:13:41.760
lynch him
0:13:38.560,0:13:43.680
lynch him and like because they
0:13:41.760,0:13:45.440
could tell like obviously he was the one
0:13:43.680,0:13:47.040
who shot the president
0:13:45.440,0:13:48.639
and yeah so they’re like swarming up
0:13:47.040,0:13:51.600
against him and they’re getting violent
0:13:48.639,0:13:53.360
and so at pluto’s own request the police
0:13:51.600,0:13:54.320
escort him to the safety of the
0:13:53.360,0:13:56.320
jailhouse
0:13:54.320,0:13:57.839
so that he’s like not attacked by the
0:13:56.320,0:14:01.600
angry mob
0:13:57.839,0:14:05.519
so you might be wondering who is charles
0:14:01.600,0:14:06.079
j guto so he at the time he’s 39 years
0:14:05.519,0:14:09.519
old
0:14:06.079,0:14:09.519
he’s from illinois
0:14:10.240,0:14:14.320
oh from my fellow listeners from
0:14:12.399,0:14:17.519
illinois he’s from freeport
0:14:14.320,0:14:21.440
if that gives you any insight
0:14:17.519,0:14:25.440
and he lived a very unique life
0:14:21.440,0:14:28.000
um he’s also not very mentally sane
0:14:25.440,0:14:28.480
and family members and acquaintances had
0:14:28.000,0:14:30.880
always
0:14:28.480,0:14:32.320
suspected that he was insane he was not
0:14:30.880,0:14:34.160
mentally sound
0:14:32.320,0:14:36.480
he spent the majority of his life
0:14:34.160,0:14:39.760
drifting from city to city
0:14:36.480,0:14:42.240
he had a million different jobs
0:14:39.760,0:14:43.279
he at one point he was a lawyer a
0:14:42.240,0:14:46.560
preacher
0:14:43.279,0:14:49.680
a bill collector and a salesman
0:14:46.560,0:14:50.480
and he even spent some time living in a
0:14:49.680,0:14:53.519
free love
0:14:50.480,0:14:55.440
religious commune um but
0:14:53.519,0:14:57.120
even though the commune practiced like
0:14:55.440,0:14:59.839
group marriage and they
0:14:57.120,0:15:00.399
wanted to love everyone they kicked
0:14:59.839,0:15:03.440
guteo
0:15:00.399,0:15:04.560
out because he was he did not vibe well
0:15:03.440,0:15:08.320
with them i guess
0:15:04.560,0:15:09.040
um but i think the craziest thing he
0:15:08.320,0:15:11.920
ever
0:15:09.040,0:15:13.440
did was decide to attend the university
0:15:11.920,0:15:16.399
of michigan
0:15:13.440,0:15:17.680
oh my god makes sense michigan still
0:15:16.399,0:15:20.480
sucks
0:15:17.680,0:15:20.720
michigan still sucks sorry guys but this
0:15:20.480,0:15:22.560
is
0:15:20.720,0:15:23.760
yeah no offense to our michigan
0:15:22.560,0:15:26.959
listeners we’re not
0:15:23.760,0:15:28.880
i’m just kidding it’s not all of our
0:15:26.959,0:15:31.199
michigan listeners just immediately like
0:15:28.880,0:15:34.240
unsubscribe but
0:15:31.199,0:15:37.519
all right guys it’s all me meanwhile but
0:15:34.240,0:15:39.920
um and so additionally he is very
0:15:37.519,0:15:40.959
involved in politics and he’s a hardcore
0:15:39.920,0:15:44.399
republican
0:15:40.959,0:15:45.120
he wrote a speech on garfield’s behalf
0:15:44.399,0:15:47.600
during the
0:15:45.120,0:15:49.440
1880 presidential election and even
0:15:47.600,0:15:51.519
though like literally no one heard it
0:15:49.440,0:15:53.279
or paid attention to it it was just like
0:15:51.519,0:15:56.079
his own speech whatever
0:15:53.279,0:15:58.480
gutel believed that his speech was a key
0:15:56.079,0:16:00.959
factor in garfield’s victory
0:15:58.480,0:16:02.880
um and so like in his mind he was like
0:16:00.959,0:16:05.920
one of the main reasons why garfield
0:16:02.880,0:16:07.040
won and so after president garfield is
0:16:05.920,0:16:11.279
inaugurated
0:16:07.040,0:16:12.079
guto moves to dc and he visits the white
0:16:11.279,0:16:15.440
house
0:16:12.079,0:16:16.959
very frequently and he i don’t know the
0:16:15.440,0:16:19.440
details but somehow
0:16:16.959,0:16:21.120
he managed to arrange a personal meeting
0:16:19.440,0:16:24.320
with president garfield
0:16:21.120,0:16:26.800
which is so messed up in this meeting
0:16:24.320,0:16:27.519
he gave president garfield a copy of his
0:16:26.800,0:16:29.920
speech
0:16:27.519,0:16:31.759
and he was like hey i wrote you the
0:16:29.920,0:16:34.880
speech i helped you in this election
0:16:31.759,0:16:38.079
can you reward me with a
0:16:34.880,0:16:41.279
diplomatic position in paris and
0:16:38.079,0:16:44.160
obviously garfield said no and
0:16:41.279,0:16:45.120
bhutto was like was furious he was
0:16:44.160,0:16:47.920
enraged
0:16:45.120,0:16:48.399
uh he was really upset with garfield’s
0:16:47.920,0:16:51.440
view
0:16:48.399,0:16:52.959
on like his work towards removing the
0:16:51.440,0:16:55.279
patronage system
0:16:52.959,0:16:56.880
and he wanted revenge because he thought
0:16:55.279,0:16:59.279
he had been
0:16:56.880,0:17:00.160
like screwed over yeah i remember
0:16:59.279,0:17:02.839
reading that
0:17:00.160,0:17:04.079
he really thought that he deserved this
0:17:02.839,0:17:05.919
position
0:17:04.079,0:17:07.360
and then to not get it was like which
0:17:05.919,0:17:09.679
that’s hard because that’s like
0:17:07.360,0:17:11.679
a diplomatic position to be sent
0:17:09.679,0:17:13.120
overseas and like the government pays
0:17:11.679,0:17:14.799
for you to handle international
0:17:13.120,0:17:16.959
relations like you have to take
0:17:14.799,0:17:19.039
you see like nan and i are studying to
0:17:16.959,0:17:19.600
just take a test for a chance to get to
0:17:19.039,0:17:22.880
do that
0:17:19.600,0:17:24.400
so like to just demand it in that time
0:17:22.880,0:17:25.919
which i don’t know how diplomats were
0:17:24.400,0:17:28.400
assigned back then was it
0:17:25.919,0:17:31.120
probably part of the spoils system too
0:17:28.400,0:17:34.080
yeah i think it was kind of like you
0:17:31.120,0:17:35.679
rewarded your friends and like your your
0:17:34.080,0:17:37.360
top donors at the time
0:17:35.679,0:17:38.559
but that’s why garfield wanted to change
0:17:37.360,0:17:40.559
all that because he’s like we should be
0:17:38.559,0:17:44.240
sending our best and our brightest
0:17:40.559,0:17:46.240
not the most wealthiest so yeah so like
0:17:44.240,0:17:48.240
really took it personally and he like
0:17:46.240,0:17:52.240
became obsessed over
0:17:48.240,0:17:55.520
um this um and so
0:17:52.240,0:17:58.240
one night while lying in bed guto had
0:17:55.520,0:17:59.520
what he described as a flash of divine
0:17:58.240,0:18:01.360
inspiration
0:17:59.520,0:18:03.679
he thought that god wanted him to kill
0:18:01.360,0:18:06.320
the president and that this
0:18:03.679,0:18:06.880
the murder of james garfield was a
0:18:06.320,0:18:10.240
mission
0:18:06.880,0:18:12.160
from god he was convinced that
0:18:10.240,0:18:14.160
the death of james garfield would save
0:18:12.160,0:18:17.120
the country because it would allow
0:18:14.160,0:18:18.480
his vice president chester a arthur to
0:18:17.120,0:18:21.200
take his place
0:18:18.480,0:18:22.480
and after this decision guteo stalked
0:18:21.200,0:18:24.640
garfield across
0:18:22.480,0:18:26.559
washington for weeks waiting to shoot
0:18:24.640,0:18:28.320
him so he
0:18:26.559,0:18:30.080
like was really determined it wasn’t
0:18:28.320,0:18:34.080
just like a one-time thing
0:18:30.080,0:18:36.400
it was like a really long process he
0:18:34.080,0:18:37.679
was so methodical about planning this
0:18:36.400,0:18:40.240
murder it’s really
0:18:37.679,0:18:41.360
frightening he conducted target practice
0:18:40.240,0:18:44.720
with an
0:18:41.360,0:18:47.120
handed 44 caliber pistol and he bought
0:18:44.720,0:18:49.600
this specific gun because he thought it
0:18:47.120,0:18:51.840
would look good in a museum one day
0:18:49.600,0:18:53.840
he tried to take a tour of the district
0:18:51.840,0:18:54.640
jail because he assumed he would be
0:18:53.840,0:18:57.200
living there
0:18:54.640,0:18:58.960
once he was arrested and that’s
0:18:57.200,0:19:02.080
literally so creepy
0:18:58.960,0:19:04.480
what dude and then listen to this
0:19:02.080,0:19:06.720
he carried a letter in his pocket that
0:19:04.480,0:19:09.360
was addressed to the white house saying
0:19:06.720,0:19:10.880
quote the president’s tragic death was a
0:19:09.360,0:19:13.360
sad necessity but it will
0:19:10.880,0:19:14.240
unite the republican party and save the
0:19:13.360,0:19:16.240
republic
0:19:14.240,0:19:17.679
life is a fleeting dream and it matters
0:19:16.240,0:19:21.120
little when one goes
0:19:17.679,0:19:24.559
unquote like this it’s so
0:19:21.120,0:19:27.919
creepy yeah that’s creepy yeah
0:19:24.559,0:19:30.559
um so yeah
0:19:27.919,0:19:31.039
wait okay i’m curious does he have any
0:19:30.559,0:19:32.960
money
0:19:31.039,0:19:34.960
because we know during the gilded age
0:19:32.960,0:19:36.080
from the last episode so you want to be
0:19:34.960,0:19:38.640
a billionaire
0:19:36.080,0:19:40.880
um there’s just like insane amounts of
0:19:38.640,0:19:45.120
wealth disparity between
0:19:40.880,0:19:47.760
uh people in the united states so
0:19:45.120,0:19:48.960
i’m curious as to how much money he had
0:19:47.760,0:19:51.520
and if he was able to
0:19:48.960,0:19:52.480
buy his position like or if he attempted
0:19:51.520,0:19:54.400
to
0:19:52.480,0:19:55.760
yeah i actually don’t know the answer to
0:19:54.400,0:19:57.039
that i don’t know how much money he had
0:19:55.760,0:19:59.840
but i would assume
0:19:57.039,0:20:02.080
he had enough to live comfortably
0:19:59.840,0:20:05.280
because like he keeps changing his
0:20:02.080,0:20:08.159
job and he keeps moving location so
0:20:05.280,0:20:09.760
i mean i don’t know what his yeah i
0:20:08.159,0:20:10.480
don’t really know the specifics but i
0:20:09.760,0:20:11.600
would assume
0:20:10.480,0:20:14.159
i don’t think he came from like an
0:20:11.600,0:20:17.200
incredibly wealthy family but i think he
0:20:14.159,0:20:20.080
like made just enough to be able to
0:20:17.200,0:20:20.960
switch careers like every year and then
0:20:20.080,0:20:24.320
move
0:20:20.960,0:20:26.799
across the country all the time um yeah
0:20:24.320,0:20:28.720
i’m sure yeah he doesn’t sound like he
0:20:26.799,0:20:31.120
has a lot of like
0:20:28.720,0:20:32.240
high morals either so yeah it doesn’t
0:20:31.120,0:20:34.640
sound like he’s working
0:20:32.240,0:20:34.640
like for
0:20:37.120,0:20:40.559
like he doesn’t have a 401k i don’t
0:20:38.960,0:20:43.919
think
0:20:40.559,0:20:45.039
a retirement um yeah but that’s a good
0:20:43.919,0:20:48.400
question
0:20:45.039,0:20:51.919
and okay so after
0:20:48.400,0:20:54.240
he is shot by gutel president garfield
0:20:51.919,0:20:55.360
is lying down on the train station floor
0:20:54.240,0:20:58.720
and he is bleeding
0:20:55.360,0:21:01.440
profusely and after only a few minutes
0:20:58.720,0:21:03.600
10 different doctors arrive at the scene
0:21:01.440,0:21:04.720
to examine him and try to locate the
0:21:03.600,0:21:05.919
second bullet
0:21:04.720,0:21:07.760
and so this will be like the whole
0:21:05.919,0:21:08.799
struggle is like no one can ever find a
0:21:07.760,0:21:12.240
second bullet
0:21:08.799,0:21:15.039
and at the time nobody knew it but this
0:21:12.240,0:21:16.000
bullet had missed garfield’s major
0:21:15.039,0:21:18.799
arteries and
0:21:16.000,0:21:20.640
vital organs and it like lodged itself
0:21:18.799,0:21:23.679
near his pancreas
0:21:20.640,0:21:26.960
which this is like a survivable injury
0:21:23.679,0:21:29.520
however the group of doctors that were
0:21:26.960,0:21:30.559
like there at the scene they were
0:21:29.520,0:21:32.799
well-meaning
0:21:30.559,0:21:34.159
but they only made the situation worse
0:21:32.799,0:21:37.360
because they were using
0:21:34.159,0:21:39.120
unsterilized instruments and like dirty
0:21:37.360,0:21:40.960
fingers to treat the wound
0:21:39.120,0:21:42.960
and so this introduced a lot of germs to
0:21:40.960,0:21:46.559
it and caused a major effect
0:21:42.960,0:21:47.600
infection yeah that’s so sad because
0:21:46.559,0:21:49.600
isn’t the
0:21:47.600,0:21:51.039
william mckinley assassination if i’m
0:21:49.600,0:21:51.919
remembering correctly wasn’t it the
0:21:51.039,0:21:54.000
second bullet
0:21:51.919,0:21:55.360
as well that ended up getting infected
0:21:54.000,0:21:57.520
and he died
0:21:55.360,0:21:58.640
yeah yeah it was like the same thing
0:21:57.520,0:22:01.360
where like the first
0:21:58.640,0:22:02.720
bullet like barely bothered him and like
0:22:01.360,0:22:04.640
it barely
0:22:02.720,0:22:06.000
uh hurt him and then the second one was
0:22:04.640,0:22:08.799
like and they also had
0:22:06.000,0:22:09.440
they never removed the bullet so there
0:22:08.799,0:22:11.679
are
0:22:09.440,0:22:12.720
like quite a few similarities between
0:22:11.679,0:22:15.120
the two
0:22:12.720,0:22:16.960
assassinations but and they’re like very
0:22:15.120,0:22:20.400
close to each other also
0:22:16.960,0:22:23.600
um and so after a full hour
0:22:20.400,0:22:24.640
of excruciating prodding i don’t have a
0:22:23.600,0:22:27.200
better there’s probably no
0:22:24.640,0:22:29.120
anesthesia just fingers in there
0:22:27.200,0:22:30.559
literally like and he’s just on this
0:22:29.120,0:22:32.320
train station floor for an
0:22:30.559,0:22:33.600
hour and like all these people are just
0:22:32.320,0:22:35.840
like poking at him
0:22:33.600,0:22:37.039
oh my gosh i can’t even imagine um so
0:22:35.840,0:22:39.039
after an hour of this
0:22:37.039,0:22:40.720
president garfield was carried from the
0:22:39.039,0:22:42.880
train station to a bedroom
0:22:40.720,0:22:44.559
in the white house and the doctors
0:22:42.880,0:22:47.600
didn’t think he would survive
0:22:44.559,0:22:49.600
the night but garfield was like really
0:22:47.600,0:22:50.880
strong and he put on a brave face for
0:22:49.600,0:22:52.640
his children
0:22:50.880,0:22:54.159
because they were like with him at the
0:22:52.640,0:22:55.600
scene and he like told his shoulder and
0:22:54.159,0:22:58.320
that like he was gonna be okay
0:22:55.600,0:22:59.840
he’s gonna make it um and the newspapers
0:22:58.320,0:23:02.960
reported medical updates
0:22:59.840,0:23:06.640
updates daily and americans read
0:23:02.960,0:23:09.520
each update extremely intently and
0:23:06.640,0:23:11.120
he stayed strong the first few days but
0:23:09.520,0:23:14.480
his condition got worse
0:23:11.120,0:23:17.200
after his doctor his doctor’s name is
0:23:14.480,0:23:19.120
dr willard bliss like literally his
0:23:17.200,0:23:22.240
first name is doctor
0:23:19.120,0:23:26.320
i like what yeah i know
0:23:22.240,0:23:28.559
so it’s dr dr willis liss yeah yeah yeah
0:23:26.320,0:23:29.440
it’s interesting it’s not what his mom
0:23:28.559,0:23:32.799
wanted him to be
0:23:29.440,0:23:35.520
like yeah i’m like he had no choice in
0:23:32.799,0:23:37.520
his future that’s some pressure yeah
0:23:35.520,0:23:38.640
yeah like if your name is doctor and
0:23:37.520,0:23:42.320
then you become
0:23:38.640,0:23:46.080
like a stand-up comedian
0:23:42.320,0:23:48.799
you got no choice but anyway so dr bliss
0:23:46.080,0:23:50.559
he administered heavy doses of morphine
0:23:48.799,0:23:52.640
and alcohol
0:23:50.559,0:23:55.679
and this made garfield really sick and
0:23:52.640,0:23:58.559
it left him weak and emaciated
0:23:55.679,0:24:00.000
and still like none of these doctors
0:23:58.559,0:24:02.880
could find a second bullet
0:24:00.000,0:24:04.000
so dr bliss actually invited alexander
0:24:02.880,0:24:06.640
graham bell
0:24:04.000,0:24:08.880
the inventor of the telephone uh he
0:24:06.640,0:24:12.000
invited him to the white house to
0:24:08.880,0:24:14.000
try his new invention the metal detector
0:24:12.000,0:24:15.840
uh he wanted him to use it to try to
0:24:14.000,0:24:17.600
find the second bullet
0:24:15.840,0:24:19.279
but like this didn’t work for two
0:24:17.600,0:24:20.960
reasons so first
0:24:19.279,0:24:22.400
there was a lot of interference from the
0:24:20.960,0:24:25.919
metal springs on
0:24:22.400,0:24:28.400
garfield’s bed and then second
0:24:25.919,0:24:29.200
bell like alexander graham bell was only
0:24:28.400,0:24:31.919
allowed to search
0:24:29.200,0:24:32.480
the right side of his body because dr
0:24:31.919,0:24:34.559
bliss
0:24:32.480,0:24:35.919
incorrectly believed that where that was
0:24:34.559,0:24:37.760
where the bullet was lodged
0:24:35.919,0:24:40.000
so he’s like only check the right side
0:24:37.760,0:24:43.120
even though like the dude i feel like
0:24:40.000,0:24:44.080
dr bliss is not a doctor i feel like his
0:24:43.120,0:24:47.120
first name was
0:24:44.080,0:24:48.320
doctor and they misunderstood like is
0:24:47.120,0:24:51.360
that his only credential
0:24:48.320,0:24:53.600
is that his name like
0:24:51.360,0:24:55.679
he really was a stand-up comedian this
0:24:53.600,0:24:57.919
is what actually happened
0:24:55.679,0:25:00.000
honestly oh my gosh yeah it’s really
0:24:57.919,0:25:02.720
frustrating like in hindsight
0:25:00.000,0:25:05.120
to see how poorly yeah you could just
0:25:02.720,0:25:06.559
put him on the ground and then check his
0:25:05.120,0:25:08.640
whole body
0:25:06.559,0:25:10.720
yeah i don’t know why he was like so
0:25:08.640,0:25:12.640
stubborn about only the right side like
0:25:10.720,0:25:13.360
i don’t know if it took a long time and
0:25:12.640,0:25:16.320
like was
0:25:13.360,0:25:17.520
hard for president garfield to like bear
0:25:16.320,0:25:18.720
but like i don’t know why wouldn’t you
0:25:17.520,0:25:19.440
just take the whole body while you’re
0:25:18.720,0:25:22.960
there
0:25:19.440,0:25:25.440
conspiracy theory what what if
0:25:22.960,0:25:27.039
dr bliss actually supported the
0:25:25.440,0:25:29.520
assassination because he wanted the
0:25:27.039,0:25:32.960
patronage system to continue
0:25:29.520,0:25:32.960
dude oh my gosh
0:25:33.120,0:25:37.760
yeah i mean it sounds like it why would
0:25:35.440,0:25:40.799
you what doctor would just
0:25:37.760,0:25:42.000
be like nah check just one side and if
0:25:40.799,0:25:44.799
it’s not there then you’re like
0:25:42.000,0:25:47.200
well um like just check the other side
0:25:44.799,0:25:49.520
like if you couldn’t find it on one side
0:25:47.200,0:25:51.039
right and it’s it’s the president of the
0:25:49.520,0:25:52.960
united states like you guys
0:25:51.039,0:25:54.799
like you have the whole country like
0:25:52.960,0:25:57.360
kind of like
0:25:54.799,0:26:00.000
a guy really yeah literally anyone like
0:25:57.360,0:26:03.440
get another doctor please
0:26:00.000,0:26:06.000
honestly um yeah i mean i don’t i know
0:26:03.440,0:26:08.400
nothing about medicine but it seems
0:26:06.000,0:26:08.400
fishy
0:26:08.559,0:26:14.400
but so okay so by september
0:26:11.919,0:26:15.279
um so as a reminder so garfield was shot
0:26:14.400,0:26:18.159
in july
0:26:15.279,0:26:19.120
and by september president garfield had
0:26:18.159,0:26:22.080
a massive
0:26:19.120,0:26:23.840
infection like he was in sepsis i think
0:26:22.080,0:26:25.520
that’s what you call it like sepsis
0:26:23.840,0:26:28.000
where like your entire body
0:26:25.520,0:26:30.000
and all your organs are infected and
0:26:28.000,0:26:31.600
this was most likely caused by his
0:26:30.000,0:26:34.400
medical treatment
0:26:31.600,0:26:36.720
and he was left with a persistent fever
0:26:34.400,0:26:39.279
and he had like abscesses
0:26:36.720,0:26:40.240
all over his body like i think that’s
0:26:39.279,0:26:43.440
like
0:26:40.240,0:26:43.840
welts kind of like i yeah i don’t really
0:26:43.440,0:26:47.039
know
0:26:43.840,0:26:47.760
um like blisters almost like boiled or
0:26:47.039,0:26:50.960
something
0:26:47.760,0:26:52.960
yeah kind of like that like okay
0:26:50.960,0:26:54.880
really painful though and like
0:26:52.960,0:26:57.919
everything like festering and
0:26:54.880,0:27:02.320
he’s really not doing well he
0:26:57.919,0:27:04.960
so before his shooting he was 210 pounds
0:27:02.320,0:27:06.240
and by the time of his death he’s 130
0:27:04.960,0:27:09.760
pounds
0:27:06.240,0:27:13.200
so wow so much weight
0:27:09.760,0:27:16.000
like from all these infections how
0:27:13.200,0:27:17.039
what was the time progression sorry no
0:27:16.000,0:27:21.200
you’re fine it was
0:27:17.039,0:27:23.840
july um it was beginning of july
0:27:21.200,0:27:24.960
and then he spoiler he dies early
0:27:23.840,0:27:28.720
september
0:27:24.960,0:27:30.640
so whoa he lived a long time actually
0:27:28.720,0:27:32.159
okay i was like i was assuming it was
0:27:30.640,0:27:34.480
gonna happen in a few days i was like
0:27:32.159,0:27:37.679
how do you drop a hundred pounds
0:27:34.480,0:27:39.440
in like a week or something dude no
0:27:37.679,0:27:41.200
yeah it’s like really sad though like
0:27:39.440,0:27:41.919
the doctors did not think he would
0:27:41.200,0:27:43.600
survive
0:27:41.919,0:27:45.360
the first day like they thought he was
0:27:43.600,0:27:48.720
gonna die within a matter of hours
0:27:45.360,0:27:50.559
but he held on but like he was in
0:27:48.720,0:27:52.240
an extreme amount of pain this whole
0:27:50.559,0:27:55.520
time so he’s like suffering
0:27:52.240,0:27:59.039
for months so it’s like really
0:27:55.520,0:28:01.279
sad um and so like so
0:27:59.039,0:28:03.200
president garfield is finally taken to a
0:28:01.279,0:28:03.679
cottage on the jersey shore because they
0:28:03.200,0:28:06.720
thought
0:28:03.679,0:28:07.919
that the cold sea air might help revive
0:28:06.720,0:28:09.520
him
0:28:07.919,0:28:11.600
and he wanted to be like in a peaceful
0:28:09.520,0:28:15.520
place and
0:28:11.600,0:28:16.320
however after 79 days of excruciating
0:28:15.520,0:28:18.399
pain
0:28:16.320,0:28:19.520
james garfield died on the night of
0:28:18.399,0:28:23.039
september 19
0:28:19.520,0:28:24.640
1881 and he was president for only 200
0:28:23.039,0:28:27.760
days
0:28:24.640,0:28:30.880
so that really sucks it really
0:28:27.760,0:28:33.679
sucks and like i don’t know
0:28:30.880,0:28:35.279
just the reason for his murder is kind
0:28:33.679,0:28:37.840
of frustrating too
0:28:35.279,0:28:38.480
yeah they kill all the best presidents
0:28:37.840,0:28:41.039
yeah
0:28:38.480,0:28:41.919
like they really do be like that really
0:28:41.039,0:28:44.799
what the heck
0:28:41.919,0:28:45.440
honestly he had so much potential he
0:28:44.799,0:28:48.640
seemed like
0:28:45.440,0:28:52.159
he was he wanted to do make a lot of
0:28:48.640,0:28:52.880
good change in his time uh it just shows
0:28:52.159,0:28:54.960
like i guess
0:28:52.880,0:28:56.000
when you try to challenge the status quo
0:28:54.960,0:28:59.679
how dangerous
0:28:56.000,0:29:03.360
it can be that’s true that’s true like
0:28:59.679,0:29:06.000
people are not super excited about
0:29:03.360,0:29:08.559
big change yeah especially really
0:29:06.000,0:29:12.240
important changes like ending slavery
0:29:08.559,0:29:15.279
shot your pyramid god like
0:29:12.240,0:29:18.320
oh it’s pretty bad command
0:29:15.279,0:29:22.000
yeah it’s it’s a it’s a difficult thing
0:29:18.320,0:29:24.799
um and so yeah now let’s do
0:29:22.000,0:29:26.159
let’s see what happens to guto so
0:29:24.799,0:29:29.360
charles guiteau
0:29:26.159,0:29:33.279
his myrtle chart murder trial began
0:29:29.360,0:29:35.679
in november 1881 so like pretty much
0:29:33.279,0:29:36.320
like a couple months after president
0:29:35.679,0:29:39.600
garfield
0:29:36.320,0:29:40.240
passes away and he was hated so much by
0:29:39.600,0:29:43.360
the public
0:29:40.240,0:29:44.159
that the court had to go through 150
0:29:43.360,0:29:47.279
different men
0:29:44.159,0:29:50.720
in order to assemble an impartial jury
0:29:47.279,0:29:52.399
and on two separate occasions people had
0:29:50.720,0:29:55.440
like come and tried to shoot him
0:29:52.399,0:29:57.840
so like everyone oh man okay
0:29:55.440,0:29:58.799
we’re so pissed they were like dude we
0:29:57.840,0:30:02.399
really liked him
0:29:58.799,0:30:06.399
and you suck um yeah
0:30:02.399,0:30:09.440
yeah and so at his trial gutel pleaded
0:30:06.399,0:30:11.840
not guilty by reason of insanity
0:30:09.440,0:30:13.760
arguing that the murder had been god’s
0:30:11.840,0:30:16.000
act and not his
0:30:13.760,0:30:17.840
and this is like fun fact this is
0:30:16.000,0:30:19.760
actually one of the first high profile
0:30:17.840,0:30:22.799
cases in american history
0:30:19.760,0:30:23.840
um that uses for like someone to use the
0:30:22.799,0:30:27.200
insanity plea
0:30:23.840,0:30:30.559
in court so it was like a first
0:30:27.200,0:30:32.720
for them and guto his lawyers
0:30:30.559,0:30:36.240
also argued that president garfield’s
0:30:32.720,0:30:37.679
death was the doctor’s fault and not his
0:30:36.240,0:30:39.520
and i thought this was like super
0:30:37.679,0:30:42.240
interesting and this is actually
0:30:39.520,0:30:44.720
like partly true many historians believe
0:30:42.240,0:30:47.279
that garfield would have survived
0:30:44.720,0:30:48.000
if it weren’t for the limitations in
0:30:47.279,0:30:52.320
medicine
0:30:48.000,0:30:54.960
in the 18 in the late 1800s um
0:30:52.320,0:30:56.399
yeah but it still like would have been
0:30:54.960,0:30:58.960
difficult to survive so
0:30:56.399,0:31:00.000
who really knows right and also
0:30:58.960,0:31:01.600
absolutely
0:31:00.000,0:31:04.720
because we talked about in the last
0:31:01.600,0:31:07.279
episode how low health standards were
0:31:04.720,0:31:09.840
and they didn’t get changed until 1916.
0:31:07.279,0:31:11.919
that’s so gross that all just these
0:31:09.840,0:31:14.559
random people from the train station
0:31:11.919,0:31:16.000
well not random but random doctors show
0:31:14.559,0:31:17.919
up at this train station
0:31:16.000,0:31:19.519
you assume they’re doctors maybe their
0:31:17.919,0:31:22.080
first name is just doctor
0:31:19.519,0:31:25.279
and they’re just touching your wounds
0:31:22.080,0:31:27.600
with no gloves no sanitary equipment
0:31:25.279,0:31:28.799
i don’t know if they wash their hands
0:31:27.600,0:31:31.519
well dude probably not
0:31:28.799,0:31:32.880
they’re just like trying to act and help
0:31:31.519,0:31:34.399
him immediately and they don’t think
0:31:32.880,0:31:34.880
about it and actually i think i was
0:31:34.399,0:31:38.159
reading
0:31:34.880,0:31:38.880
i’m pretty sure but i think like right
0:31:38.159,0:31:40.559
after
0:31:38.880,0:31:42.159
like very soon after president
0:31:40.559,0:31:43.840
garfield’s death like maybe within like
0:31:42.159,0:31:46.960
the next 20 or 30 years
0:31:43.840,0:31:49.760
that’s when they like discovered
0:31:46.960,0:31:50.399
that like you can introduce germs into
0:31:49.760,0:31:52.000
the body
0:31:50.399,0:31:54.559
and like cause infections if you don’t
0:31:52.000,0:31:58.159
sterilize things properly and so like
0:31:54.559,0:32:00.960
that yeah people like medicine
0:31:58.159,0:32:01.600
changed like soon after this yeah okay
0:32:00.960,0:32:04.000
so even
0:32:01.600,0:32:05.279
during this time then the doctors didn’t
0:32:04.000,0:32:07.279
even know that that
0:32:05.279,0:32:08.799
you could infect if you touched like
0:32:07.279,0:32:12.399
that okay yeah it like
0:32:08.799,0:32:13.279
wasn’t common knowledge or common
0:32:12.399,0:32:15.200
practice
0:32:13.279,0:32:18.000
or like maybe like there were
0:32:15.200,0:32:20.240
sterilization efforts but it was not
0:32:18.000,0:32:21.039
like up to the standard it is today like
0:32:20.240,0:32:23.200
it wasn’t
0:32:21.039,0:32:24.960
completely scary yeah i don’t know this
0:32:23.200,0:32:27.200
is that’s a smart lawyer
0:32:24.960,0:32:28.159
that lawyer is very smart if before you
0:32:27.200,0:32:30.799
even understand
0:32:28.159,0:32:31.279
infections like no one understands on a
0:32:30.799,0:32:33.360
on a
0:32:31.279,0:32:35.120
like national scale people don’t really
0:32:33.360,0:32:37.120
understand how infections work
0:32:35.120,0:32:38.559
that the lawyer used that and said that
0:32:37.120,0:32:39.679
the doctors had killed him from
0:32:38.559,0:32:42.000
infection
0:32:39.679,0:32:42.799
yeah for real and like well they said it
0:32:42.000,0:32:44.320
was like their
0:32:42.799,0:32:46.320
medical treatment so i don’t know if you
0:32:44.320,0:32:48.240
specified infection but like i thought
0:32:46.320,0:32:49.120
that was still such a clever argument to
0:32:48.240,0:32:51.840
be like
0:32:49.120,0:32:52.720
yo like obviously it had to do with the
0:32:51.840,0:32:56.000
doctors
0:32:52.720,0:32:57.200
and so yeah yeah that is really smart
0:32:56.000,0:32:59.600
i don’t even think i would have come up
0:32:57.200,0:33:02.960
with that i’d be like clearly this man
0:32:59.600,0:33:04.080
killed him but he was insane that’s what
0:33:02.960,0:33:07.360
i would go with
0:33:04.080,0:33:08.960
yeah but like despite all of this
0:33:07.360,0:33:10.640
lawyers like all of his lawyers
0:33:08.960,0:33:13.279
arguments the jury took
0:33:10.640,0:33:15.519
less than an hour to deliberate and
0:33:13.279,0:33:16.480
charles guteau was found guilty in the
0:33:15.519,0:33:19.919
murder of james
0:33:16.480,0:33:20.679
garfield surprise surprise and on june
0:33:19.919,0:33:23.919
30th
0:33:20.679,0:33:24.640
1882 nearly a year after he shot the
0:33:23.919,0:33:27.279
president
0:33:24.640,0:33:28.559
charles gutel was executed by hanging in
0:33:27.279,0:33:31.600
washington dc
0:33:28.559,0:33:34.720
oh okay death penalty yeah yeah
0:33:31.600,0:33:35.440
death penalty um yeah it was like by
0:33:34.720,0:33:38.640
hanging too
0:33:35.440,0:33:40.720
because i think the president william
0:33:38.640,0:33:42.000
mckinley’s assassin was executed like
0:33:40.720,0:33:45.200
through
0:33:42.000,0:33:48.559
electric care i want to say um
0:33:45.200,0:33:52.320
but yeah i’m like hanging it so so
0:33:48.559,0:33:55.919
ancient medieval-ish whoa that’s scary
0:33:52.320,0:33:59.279
but uh yeah so he was executed
0:33:55.919,0:34:00.000
um and so obviously president garfield’s
0:33:59.279,0:34:02.320
death
0:34:00.000,0:34:04.000
had a huge effect on the whole country
0:34:02.320,0:34:07.360
and in honor of
0:34:04.000,0:34:09.359
his death the 1883 pendleton civil
0:34:07.360,0:34:11.280
service act was passed
0:34:09.359,0:34:12.480
and yeah i think you’re familiar with
0:34:11.280,0:34:15.040
this but this
0:34:12.480,0:34:15.520
act mandated that government jobs had to
0:34:15.040,0:34:18.000
be
0:34:15.520,0:34:18.879
awarded on merit rather than political
0:34:18.000,0:34:20.480
affiliation
0:34:18.879,0:34:22.240
and it’s one of the most progressive
0:34:20.480,0:34:23.200
political reforms of the late 19th
0:34:22.240,0:34:26.320
century
0:34:23.200,0:34:29.119
aka the gilded age
0:34:26.320,0:34:30.000
so yay and then chester president
0:34:29.119,0:34:33.520
chester a
0:34:30.000,0:34:34.079
arthur became president um i tried to do
0:34:33.520,0:34:37.040
research
0:34:34.079,0:34:38.480
on him like not a lot happened he kind
0:34:37.040,0:34:42.800
of just
0:34:38.480,0:34:45.839
uh like tried to yeah he was focused on
0:34:42.800,0:34:49.359
civil service reform like
0:34:45.839,0:34:52.639
president garfield uh he only served
0:34:49.359,0:34:54.320
like three years though so yeah like he
0:34:52.639,0:34:56.639
served the remainder of president
0:34:54.320,0:34:59.280
garfield’s term and then he didn’t
0:34:56.639,0:35:00.640
run for election uh because he had like
0:34:59.280,0:35:03.680
poor health
0:35:00.640,0:35:04.880
so yeah that’s all i couldn’t find about
0:35:03.680,0:35:06.640
him but
0:35:04.880,0:35:08.480
yeah no that’s okay it’s i’ve never
0:35:06.640,0:35:10.400
heard of this president too sorry
0:35:08.480,0:35:12.160
but yeah it’s hard to make a lot of
0:35:10.400,0:35:14.560
change especially during that era
0:35:12.160,0:35:16.320
with all the really big money and the
0:35:14.560,0:35:19.520
government was like in debt
0:35:16.320,0:35:22.480
indebted and debt dude yeah
0:35:19.520,0:35:23.119
yeah indebted to all the wealthy robber
0:35:22.480,0:35:25.760
barons
0:35:23.119,0:35:27.520
so for sure for sure like that’s some
0:35:25.760,0:35:29.200
big shoes to fill so
0:35:27.520,0:35:31.280
that’s like a lot of work you have on
0:35:29.200,0:35:33.440
your plate um
0:35:31.280,0:35:34.560
and kind of spooky yeah like the
0:35:33.440,0:35:36.400
president just got
0:35:34.560,0:35:38.000
shot and now you want to continue his
0:35:36.400,0:35:40.480
policies
0:35:38.000,0:35:42.160
yeah yeah like he got killed for these
0:35:40.480,0:35:42.720
same policies so maybe that’s another
0:35:42.160,0:35:45.359
reason
0:35:42.720,0:35:46.800
why like president arthur was kind of
0:35:45.359,0:35:49.839
like oh i’m gonna
0:35:46.800,0:35:51.920
i’m gonna try to stay alive during this
0:35:49.839,0:35:54.960
term
0:35:51.920,0:35:55.520
that’s true um yeah and so like i
0:35:54.960,0:35:57.680
mentioned
0:35:55.520,0:35:59.359
earlier the train station where
0:35:57.680,0:36:01.280
president garfield was shot
0:35:59.359,0:36:02.960
no longer exists it was actually
0:36:01.280,0:36:06.240
demolished later
0:36:02.960,0:36:08.480
um but the location where
0:36:06.240,0:36:10.240
yeah the location of the train station
0:36:08.480,0:36:12.640
is somewhere between
0:36:10.240,0:36:14.160
the national gallery of art and the
0:36:12.640,0:36:15.520
federal trade commission
0:36:14.160,0:36:17.920
and this is actually like one of the
0:36:15.520,0:36:19.599
most busiest spots in dc
0:36:17.920,0:36:21.599
but most of the people don’t know the
0:36:19.599,0:36:24.960
history of behind the location
0:36:21.599,0:36:27.280
or the legacy of james garfield and it
0:36:24.960,0:36:29.920
wasn’t until 2018
0:36:27.280,0:36:32.000
that memorial plaques were finally put
0:36:29.920,0:36:35.760
up on the national mall in order to
0:36:32.000,0:36:38.560
memorial memorialize yeah memorialize
0:36:35.760,0:36:39.200
president garfield so it like took so
0:36:38.560,0:36:42.480
long
0:36:39.200,0:36:45.359
like this so very recently that
0:36:42.480,0:36:46.400
we’re finally like trying to recognize
0:36:45.359,0:36:49.359
this history
0:36:46.400,0:36:50.800
and yeah that’s the assassination of
0:36:49.359,0:36:53.520
president james garfield
0:36:50.800,0:36:55.680
i’m so sad i it took me so long to like
0:36:53.520,0:36:57.520
learn about him
0:36:55.680,0:36:59.520
and it’s really sad because i think he
0:36:57.520,0:37:00.400
could have had a lot of he had a lot of
0:36:59.520,0:37:03.599
potential
0:37:00.400,0:37:03.599
as president um
0:37:03.760,0:37:07.359
like how different the world would be if
0:37:05.920,0:37:10.160
he
0:37:07.359,0:37:10.800
wasn’t killed yeah if he had gotten his
0:37:10.160,0:37:13.359
chance
0:37:10.800,0:37:14.800
yeah yeah that’s sad but that’s yeah
0:37:13.359,0:37:16.800
thank you so much for
0:37:14.800,0:37:18.480
covering him there’s so many presidents
0:37:16.800,0:37:20.960
that i don’t really know what they did
0:37:18.480,0:37:23.520
and garfield sounds like an awesome
0:37:20.960,0:37:24.000
uh president and just person in general
0:37:23.520,0:37:27.200
so
0:37:24.000,0:37:27.839
i’m glad you covered this thanks yeah it
0:37:27.200,0:37:30.160
was
0:37:27.839,0:37:31.359
i mean it’s a wild story yeah i wanted
0:37:30.160,0:37:33.760
to end
0:37:31.359,0:37:35.599
see this season our first season with an
0:37:33.760,0:37:38.000
assassination also
0:37:35.599,0:37:39.599
so come full circle it’s really cool i
0:37:38.000,0:37:40.800
like that we like ended in on that it’s
0:37:39.599,0:37:43.520
really good
0:37:40.800,0:37:44.640
and just like a reminder to everyone for
0:37:43.520,0:37:45.760
there have been four
0:37:44.640,0:37:48.400
four presidents who have been
0:37:45.760,0:37:51.280
assassinated president abraham lincoln
0:37:48.400,0:37:52.560
uh james garfield william mckinley and
0:37:51.280,0:37:55.599
john f kennedy so
0:37:52.560,0:37:56.320
now we know um yeah and so i guess that
0:37:55.599,0:37:59.280
wraps up
0:37:56.320,0:38:00.880
season one oh my god yeah oh my gosh any
0:37:59.280,0:38:04.560
announcements though should we
0:38:00.880,0:38:06.880
don’t forget everyone to like us on
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facebook and how do we not know that
0:38:06.880,0:38:12.079
follow us on twitter at hdwnkt instagram
0:38:10.320,0:38:14.079
as well hdwnkt
0:38:12.079,0:38:15.839
check out our patreon at how did we not
0:38:14.079,0:38:16.480
know that where you can become a history
0:38:15.839,0:38:20.160
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0:38:16.480,0:38:21.200
and support us and get exclusive access
0:38:20.160,0:38:24.160
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0:38:24.160,0:38:29.760
so you can help us choose some topics
0:38:26.640,0:38:32.320
yeah subscribe to us on youtube
0:38:29.760,0:38:34.480
heck yeah and then we’re coming back in
0:38:32.320,0:38:36.079
a couple weeks so you guys don’t have to
0:38:34.480,0:38:39.119
worry don’t miss this too much
0:38:36.079,0:38:42.160
we’ll be back shortly uh with season two
0:38:39.119,0:38:44.960
which is world history um
0:38:42.160,0:38:47.440
we’re super duper excited about that so
0:38:44.960,0:38:47.920
stay tuned thanks everyone for listening
0:38:47.440,0:38:51.119
and
0:38:47.920,0:38:53.599
we’ll see you guys soon yeah thanks for
0:38:51.119,0:38:56.240
all the support for season one
0:38:53.599,0:38:58.720
yeah you guys are great all right
0:38:56.240,0:38:58.720
healthy
0:38:58.839,0:39:17.200
bye
0:39:00.090,0:39:19.280
[Music]
0:39:17.200,0:39:19.280
you
How Did We Not Know That 