James A. Garfield

Charles Guiteau Shoots President Garfield Over Patronage Denial

1881-07-02 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

Charles J. Guiteau shoots President James A. Garfield at 9:30 AM on July 2, 1881, at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., less than four months into Garfield’s presidency. Guiteau, a disappointed and delusional office-seeker who distributed copies of a speech …

James A. Garfield Charles J. Guiteau Chester A. Arthur James Blaine systematic-corruption patronage-system political-violence institutional-capture

Garfield Launches Investigation of Star Route Postal Fraud Scheme

1881-04-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

President James A. Garfield launches an investigation in April 1881 into the Star Route scandal, a massive postal fraud scheme that has defrauded the Post Office of $4 million through rigged bidding on rural mail delivery contracts. The scandal involves a ring of contractors, brokers, and appointed …

James A. Garfield Thomas J. Brady Stephen W. Dorsey Chester A. Arthur Bradley Barlow systematic-corruption gilded-age postal-fraud elite-impunity