James Clark American Assassin Sparknotes

The author, James W. Clark in his article “American Assassin: Charles J. Guiteau, highlights the life of Charles Guiteau and the events took place before and after the assassination by Guiteau of the president James Garfield on July 2, 1881. Firstly, the author mentions a comparison of Charles J. Guiteau with the case of Richard Lawrence who tried to assassinate Andrew Jackson. According to the Clark, there was no American assassin in the history more deranged that Charles Guiteau. He describes Lawrence as a paranoid schizophrenic, on the other hand for Guiteau, he states that he was possessed with a benign view of the world until he was hanged. The major difference highlighted by the author was about the confinement of Lawrence into a mental

Noyes also specified Charles behaviour of stealing money, frequently visiting brothels and other sins. Poor Charles’s father was already mortified by his son’s action and the letter convinced him that his son was completely insane. This resulted in Charles to abandon New York and move to Chicago, where he started practicing law. Furthermore, he got married in 1869, soon after that he had completely failed both law and his marriage. After which he kept wondering back to New York and taking up small loans which always landed him to some or the other kinds of

Moreover, during the 1880 presidential elections he threw himself into stalwart faction’s fight for the Republican presidential nominations. After which he wrote a speech titled as “Garfield vs Hancock” and may have delivered which Charles claimed that it was because of his speech Garfield won the election and mentioned it in a letter he wrote to the newly appointed secretary of states, James Blaine. Therefore, Charles was expecting confidently for a reward of a consulship appointment for Paris or Vienna and started to badger not only Blaine but also the president by writing letters over and over again. While, there were many controversies developed as per the author, two most powerful senate of New York resigned, however, Charles reached to Blaine again for his reward but this time the secretary of state busted in flames and asked him not to bother him about the consulship ever. But Charles persisted and wrote to president that Blaine was a wicked man and for the Republican Party he should resign. The author refer to Charles being in a delusional world as despite failing his careers he remained convinced for his destined wealth and