Delusions of Grandeur: Charles Guiteau Part One

To General Sherman: I have just shot the President. I shot him several times, as I wished him to go as easily as possible. His death was a political necessity. I am a lawyer, theologian, and politician. I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts. I was with Gen. Grant, and the rest of our men in New York during the canvas. I am going to the jail. Please order out your troops, and take possession of the jail at once. Charles Guiteau, 1881. 

Hey everyone, welcome back. 

When I was in the early stages of laying out what topics and people to explore for the Gilded Age, I asked you dear listeners for some feedback on what topics I should cover. Longtime listener and supporter of the show Sarah shared that one of her top choices was the infamous presidential assassin Charles Guiteau. I’ve teased a little of Guiteau in my coverage of James Garfield, but I held back on the details so that I could do a deep dive into the man who either because of anger, mental illness, or a combination of both, altered the course of American history. 

If you know the headlines, then you have likely heard of the caricature of Guiteau. A man who - after being rejected from a civil service appointment in the Garfield administration - chose to take vengeance against the president who failed to give him a chance. Of course, beyond the headline is a much more nuanced and complicated story. Charles Guiteau was a man focused on revenge, yes. But what caused the rage behind the revenge - and how Guiteau chose to act on the vengeance illustrates the shortcomings of mental health treatment during the Gilded Age and the dangers in failing to appropriately care for individuals who clearly showed signs of having tenuous grasps on reality. It also shined a bright light on one of the dangers of patronage and contributed to significant movement on civil service reforms. 

Like Garfield, there is more Charles Guiteau than one might expect and so, dear listeners you’re in for another double feature. This week I am starting my coverage of the life of Charles Guiteau. How did he grow up? How did he get into law? And when did get drawn into politics? 

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

Charles Guiteau was a man who always felt that he was destined for greatness. Born in Freeport, Illinois in 1841, Guiteau was a sickly infant and an overactive child. His mother Jane was an invalid who died when Charles was just 7 and the young boy was raised by his father who was said to be quite harsh and firm with his discipline. Even as a young boy, however, Guiteau never lacked confidence, in fact displaying a quote “offensive egotism” end quote that he never developed friendships. At 19, Guiteau attempted to go to college only to become disillusioned and turn toward theology. The young man eventually found comfort in the Oneida Community, a Christian religious society located in central New York that was known for its untraditional beliefs. Members who subscribed to the Oneida way of life believed in perfectionism and practiced a concept known as communalism where residents shared property and entered into spiritual marriages with multiple partners. To outsiders, this was known as free love and it worked for Guiteau - at least for a while. He lived in the Oneida community for about six years, entering into three spiritual marriages and working among the community. Before long, however, Guiteau’s abrasive personality became too much to bear and the toxic mix of his peculiar nature and egotism led the women of the community to reject him. This meant Guiteau was basically living a celibate lifestyle. Yet, despite these rejections - and in perhaps a sign of things to come - Guiteau managed to convince himself that he was actually destined to become the next leader of the Oneida community. His dreams of grandeur did not stop there. Guiteau also believed that after becoming leader of Oneida, he was then meant to become President of the United States, and then somehow, ruler of the world So convinced of his own delusions, Guiteau shared these ideas publicly, facing ridicule at the Oneida community’s nightly free criticism sessions. In April 1865, Guiteau decided that the religious community did not support him in the manner he deserved and only intended to make him work and thus departed for New York City. 

In his version, Guiteau’s mission was not to give up the Oneida lifestyle, but to carry the gospel to larger audiences by establishing a newspaper. The idea of creating a periodical had been previously considered by Oneida leader John Humphrey Noyes, but Guiteau would insist on claiming singular credit for the idea saying quote, “I say boldly that I claim inspiration. I claim that I am in the employ of Jesus Christ & Co., the very ablest and strongest firm in the universe,” end quote. The paper never got off the ground. Guiteau next tried to blackmail members of the Oneida community, threatening to expose their lifestyle and how quote “nightly, innocent girls and innocent young women are sacrificed to an experience easier imagined than described,” end quote. This too went nowhere. 

Deciding New York City was not to his liking, Charles Guiteau headed west to Chicago where he began studying law. I should mention that studying law is doing a lot of work here as Guiteau did not go to law school, but instead apprenticed briefly with a practicing attorney. And as historian Allan Peskin describes quote, “standards of admission to the Illinois bar were not particularly rigorous. Guiteau was asked three or four questions, answered more than half correctly, and was entitled to call himself a lawyer,” end quote. For a man of Guiteau’s inflated ego - and deteriorating mental health - becoming a lawyer was not exactly a great decision. It is believed he argued exactly one case before a jury - a petty larceny case that was considered straight forward. Yet, the new lawyer made it a larger issue. Again from historian Allan Peskin quote, “for the better part of an hour, he screamed and rambled incoherently, raving of God and the rights of man and shaking his fist at the jurors, who then hastily convicted his client without even bothering to leave the jury box,” end quote. 

After such a poor courtroom performance, Guiteau switched to debt collection. He did okay in the beginning, but poor business practices made repeat business hard to come by and by 1871, he had exhausted his Chicago connections and decided to head back to New York City. It was around this time that Guiteau also met and married Annie Bunn, a librarian who worked at a local YMCA that Guiteau frequented. Bunn was drawn to the young lawyer due to his piety; he had no vices - he did not drink, smoke, or swear. And he appeared to be a man of deep faith as he was a regular at prayer meetings. Yet, once they were married, Bunn saw a new side. If she questioned or contradicted her husband, Bunn risked being locked out of the house, or locked in an unheated storage closet. Bunn also quickly learned that while Guiteau may not have indulged in many vices, he was not exactly an ethical man and they frequently bounced from boarding house to boarding house - usually to avoid paying their bill. When Bunn asked her husband about why he was being so deceptive in his actions, Guiteau indicated simply that the world owed him and he planned on collecting one way or another. 

In 1872, Guiteau’s obsession turned to politics. He spoke in favor of Horace Greeley’s candidacy and despite his work hardly being noticed, Guiteau nevertheless convinced himself that he had been a critical part of the campaign and that, if elected, he would be rewarded with a premium position within the administration - perhaps as a minister to Chile. Guiteau is quoted as once telling an associate, “If I cannot get notoriety for good, I will get it for evil.” When asked to clarify exactly what he meant by such a statement, Guiteau darkly foreshadowed, “Well, I will shoot some of our public men.” Horace Greeley was unsuccessful in his presidential bid and thus Guiteau never had his chance to demand a position within the administration and in 1873 his marriage ended when he contracted syphilis from a sex worker. 

Things continued to turn south for Guiteau in 1874 when he lost his debt collection business as a result of an article in the New York Herald highlighting his fraudulent schemes. Without a way to make money - and refusing other menial work - Guiteau bounced from hotel to hotel, never paying his bill before he was finally arrested and forced to spend a month in the New York City jail, known as the Tombs. He was eventually bailed out by his sister Frances and her husband George Scoville and brought back to live with them in Wisconsin. It was while living with his sister in Wisconsin that Guiteau’s mental health troubles became clear when he attacked his sister with an axe. Worried about her brother’s safety - and the safety of others - Frances tried to get Charles committed, but he fled for Chicago before she was able to finalize the order. 

Still feeling he was meant for a higher purpose, Guiteau next focused his attention on writing a book. Titled The Truth: A Companion to the Bible, it was basically a plagiarized version of another work, The Berean. Nevertheless, Guiteau tried to sell his edition for 25c a copy - when the book failed to become a bestseller, Guiteau decided that his calling was to become a traveling preacher. Calling himself the The Little Giant from the West, Guiteau gave lectures and sermons on everything from Paul the Apostle to the Second Coming. He spent three years on the road, but eventually decided there was little money in theology and returned his attention to politics in 1880 - just in time for the presidential election. 

Guiteau updated his original 1872 Greeley speech to incorporate anticipated nominee Ulysses S. Grant. When Garfield surprised everyone as the nominee, Guiteau made a few more edits tailored to the new candidate. He handed out pamphlets of his speech to anyone he came into contact with, hoping to convince party insiders to let him speak on behalf of Garfield’s candidacy. Stalking party headquarters, Guiteau managed to run into and convince Vice Presidential candidate Chester A Arthur to allow him to give his remarks in front of a very small crowd of supporters. In Guiteau’s mind his speech was a critical moment of the Garfield campaign and when Garfield eventually won the election, Guiteau convinced himself it was the result of his oratory that the dark horse candidate had been elected. Thus, Guiteau expected to be rewarded - handsomely. 

He sent a copy of his speech to the president-elect writing quote, “Next spring, I expect to marry the daughter of a recently deceased New York Republican millionaire and I think we can represent the United States Government at the Court of Vienna with dignity and grace,” end quote. There was, of course, no heiress. After the inauguration, Guiteau learned that the Austria post was already spoken for and shifted his sights to a post in France. To ensure his position, Guiteau traveled to the nation’s capital and was in line at the White House on March 8th. When he met the president, Guiteau again produced a copy of his speech and wrote “Paris Consulship” at the top of the page. Now all he had to do was wait. When he inquired about the status of his post, Guiteau was informed that his application was routed to the State Department. Undeterred, Guiteau went to follow up with Secretary of State James G. Blaine, catching him in an elevator where he again produced a copy of his speech and explained that he was the man seeking a post to Paris. Guiteau even tried to draft a petition to apply pressure to the president and the Secretary of State to get movement on his post - no one would sign. 

Like a dog with a bone, Guiteau shuffled back and forth between the White House and the State Department seeking an update about his position. While he was often outright denied entry at the State Department, representatives at the White House told Guiteau that the president was unable to see him today. For someone like Guiteau, who had a tenuous hold on reality, the language choice mattered. Guiteau did not understand - or chose to ignore - that he was being gently brushed off. In his mind, the president was a busy man and that while he could not be seen today, there was a chance that Garfield could see him the following day. And so Guiteau kept showing up. For months. 

Focused on securing the government position, Guiteau had no other means of making money. His appearance became shabby and his clothes grew to be quite filthy. In May, after two months of doggedly pursuing his appointment, Guiteau got into a scuffle with a White House usher and was prohibited from the grounds. He followed this up with an argument with the Secretary of State who barred Guiteau from asking about the consulship ever again. Guiteau was beside himself. In his mind, James Garfield had only been elected due to his speech. All he wanted in return was a consulship. How could the president be so ungrateful? The following week, the resignations of New York Senators’ Roscoe Conkling and Thomas Platt over the battle with the President hit newsstands. A seed had been planted in Guiteau’s mind - maybe everything would be better if the president was gone. 

But for that, dear listeners, you’ll have to wait for the next episode. Who knew that Charles Guiteau would provide such a rich and interesting life history? Be sure to come back next week to learn all about Guiteau’s meticulous plans to murder the president, the crazy trial that followed, and how his actions altered American political life. My thanks to Sarah for suggesting a deep dive into Charles Guiteau - as per usual, I learned so much diving into the rabbit hole and I am always so impressed by my listener’s requests. Here is a great place for me to remind you all that you too can submit your request. I’ve covered some incredible topics to date - including the history of World’s Fairs, H.H. Holmes, and the Dakota 38. So keep them coming! 

And before I sign off today I want to welcome the newest member of the Patreon, Adi! Welcome! I am so excited to have you! If you didn’t know, Civics & Coffee has a grown up edition over on Patreon where for less than a cup of coffee these days you get access to the bonus series Civics & Cocktails. It’s a looser, more laid back version of Civics & Coffee where I invite a few friends over and we chat about a historical topic while sipping a cocktail. There have been some fun episodes - such as our look at the decision to enlist school age children into killing squirrels during World War I - and some darker and more serious episodes - including last year when we discussed the Oklahoma City Bombing. So if you want to get even more history content in your life and you have $5 a month you can part with, come join me. I will include the information for the Patreon in the show notes for the episode - and of course information about how to join - and other ways you can support the show - are available on the website at www dot civics and coffee dot com. 

Thanks, peeps. I will see you next time.