200 Days

The start of a 19th-century President's term was grueling. Garfield had to make thousands of political appointments from the steady stream of office seekers that flooded the White House. Peacetime Presidents were not expected to achieve much, but Garfield did make his influence felt. He took particular pride in refunding the national debt through the public sale of government bonds and laid the foundations for civil service reform.

The President's assassin, Charles Guiteau

Every detail of the President's shaky condition made front-page news. On September 6, a modified train brought Garfield gently to Elberon, New Jersey. "I have always felt the ocean was my friend," he once wrote, "and the sight of it brings rest and peace." But the reprieve was only temporary. At 10:35 p.m. on September 19, Garfield finally died.

On July 2, 1881, tragedy struck in the Baltimore and Potomac train station. Emerging from the shadows, Charles Guiteau, a disgruntled office-seeker, fired two shots point-blank at the President. Over the next few months, Garfield suffered constant pain as doctors repeatedly probed the wound to locate the elusive bullet, their incessant attentions resulting in blood poisoning.