The Honorable James Abram Garfield, President of the United States, Civil War General and military hero (1831-1881). |
Based on Candice Millard's “Destiny of
the Republic,” a new best seller, Murder of a
President, is the story of James A. Garfield, one of the most extraordinary
men ever elected president; his shooting by a deluded madman named Charles
Guiteau; and its bizarre and tragic aftermath. Just four months after Garfield
took office, Guiteau fired two bullets at the president in a Washington, D.C.
train station.
Amazingly,
Garfield survived, and for the next 79 days, the nation held its breath while
his medical team and others -- including inventor Alexander Graham Bell --
struggled in vain to keep him alive.
Featuring
Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley as Garfield, Kathryn Erbe (Law & Order:
Criminal Intent) as his beloved wife Lucretia, and Will Janowitz (The Sopranos,
Boardwalk Empire) as the assassin, the sweeping and dramatic story of Garfield's
life combines Science and medicine, party politics and love. The PBS offering
was executive produced by Mark Samels and directed by Rob Rapley.
On the morning of July 2, 1881, as
Garfield entered the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station, Charles Guiteau
shot him twice. The first bullet sliced through the president's right arm; the
second ripped into his back. Guiteau was immediately arrested.
Just five
minutes after the shooting, the first doctor reached the station, and within
the hour, he would be joined by nine more physicians. As Garfield fought for
his life, his medical team -- led by the questionable Dr. Doctor Bliss --
administered archaic and unsanitary measures, rejecting the method of
antisepsis that had been recently discovered by the British surgeon Joseph
Lister. Garfield was transported back to the White House and Bliss assumed
control, refusing assistance or opinions from other doctors.
As
Garfield's life hung in the balance, the nation remained riveted to news
reports, and thousands of letters of support poured in for the ailing
president. Even Alexander Graham Bell, the recent inventor of the telephone,
worked around the clock to invent the first metal detector, a device capable of
finding the bullet.
But Bliss
interfered with the metal detector tests, fearing they would reveal that the
bullet was lodged in a place other than where he had indicated. Throughout,
Lucretia remained at her husband's side, advocating on his behalf. She brought
in another doctor, Garfield's cousin, but he too was unable to convince Bliss
to change course.
Weakened by
pain and riddled with infection, Garfield remained stoic and conscious until
the end. On September 5th, he asked to be moved to the seashore in Elberon, New
Jersey, where train track was laid directly to the door of his borrowed summer
home. With Lucretia and his family by his side, Garfield died on September 19,
1881.
"The
1880s represent a crucial moment in American history. Garfield's presidency
promised to lead the nation into a new and brighter direction. He grew up in
terrible poverty and rose to the Presidency on the sheer force of his
personality and intellect and truly believed all Americans should have the same
opportunity to succeed," says American Experience executive producer Mark
Samels.
About American Experience.
For more
than 27 years, American Experience has been TV's most-watched history series.
The series has been hailed as "peerless" (The Wall Street Journal.), "the most consistently enriching
program on television" (Chicago
Tribune), and "a beacon of intelligence and purpose" (Houston
Chronicle). On air and online, the series brings to life the incredible
characters and epic stories that have shaped America's past and present.
Acclaimed by viewers and critics alike, American Experience documentaries have
been honored with every major broadcast award, including 30 Emmy Awards, four
duPont-Columbia Awards, and 17 George Foster Peabody Awards; the series
received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Documentary Feature in 2015 for
Last Days in Vietnam.
Thank yous.
Corporate
funding for American Experience is in part provided by Liberty Mutual
Insurance. Major funding provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Major
funding for “Murder of a President” provided by the National Endowment for the
Humanities. Additional funding provided by The Documentary Investment Group:
Gretchen Stone Cook Charitable Foundation; the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting and public television viewers. American Experience is produced for
PBS by WGBH Boston.
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