Introduction
Sometimes, fate develops in an absolutely unexpected way: a rural orphan boy managed to become the president of the USA but did not get a chance to long this position long enough. James Abram Garfield was an incredibly talented and naturally gifted person who spent his youth in poverty and achieved success due to his dedication and perseverance. This man is the central character of the novel Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard. On the pages of this historical nonfiction, written in 2011, the historical report and crime story are intertwined, just as the fate of James Garfield collided with the fortune of Charles Guiteau in real life. Focusing mainly on the death of Garfield, this brilliant and remarkable book touches on more global topics, showing America at the end of the 19th century, its political system, scientific discoveries, and medical derelictions.
The Fate of James Garfield: A Person Who Could Become Great
In her book, Millard narrates an almost forgotten story about the short but significant presidency of James Garfield and two well-aimed shots of Guiteau, which together with improper treatment cut the president’s life short. Making the novel’s central theme not only Garfield’s assassination but also his entire fate, the author describes man’s path, becoming president, shooting at a railway station, and subsequent attempts to cure him. Born in a rural area and forced to work on a farm after completing school, this person succeeded “not with aggression or even overt ambition, but with a passionate love of learning”. He was not only a lawyer, congressman, a talented orator, and ruler of the country; he was also a devoted friend, an excellent father, a good husband, and an honest person of principle. It is that Millard shows in Destiny of the Republic.
Until recently, people of the 21st century knew almost nothing about this man, who had been president only for several months and had not had time to take any famous laws. He could write in ancient Greek with his left hand and in Latin with his right one; he fought for the abolition of slavery and served in the Army. This man was not afraid of difficulties and always strived to avoid dealing doubly. Due to this novel, the modern reader can discover the personality of Garfield and realize that he had the great potential to become one of America’s greatest presidents. He was not the only president to be shot, but his story has consistently attracted less attention from modern Americans than the stories of Kennedy or Lincoln. Therefore, Millard does not just describe the life of this man and several years of the country’s history; she makes Garfield’s figure more alive and close to every reader.
Introducing readers to Garfield’s story, Millard narrates who he was, and between the lines, it is possible to quickly understand who he could have become if Guiteau had not intervened in his fate. The author shows not only the portrait of Garfield but also of his murder, who considers that God selected him for a crucial mission. The reader sees two different men: a talented self-taught and a lunatic loser. The first one can achieve even unattainable goals, and the second “failed at everything he had tried” and who “tried nearly everything, from law to ministry to even a free-love commune”. Guiteau was not the only one who killed James Garfield; outdated and unusable treatment methods have also done their part, not letting the president implement the changes he considered necessary for the country’s development.
Underlying Themes of Novel: A Window on the America of the 1880s
Simultaneously, recounting the fate of one person, the author presents a broad panorama of life throughout the United States at the end of the 19th century. Due to this novel, readers can imagine the life of US residents almost a century and a half ago. The book describes the country’s political structure, the conduct of elections, various scientific research, and daily cares of people and their habits. Moreover, it shows the level of medical care of that time. Although the shoots were not fatal, the physicians did not manage to save Garfield. Furthermore, his medical treatment was consistently reported in the lay press, though it had not happened before. Therefore, America’s life in the 1880s is one of the novel’s underlying themes; it plays a significant role because it is impossible to understand the causes of Garfield’s death without considering all aspects.
It is not only a story about James Garfield, his life, presidency, and death. The novel includes a biography of an inventor Alexander Bell, who patented the first telephone and strived to create a device to detect a bullet in the wounded body. He appears quite often in the pages of the book. The story also touches upon the personality of Joseph Lister, who promoted the idea of antiseptic surgery. The standards of care did not include aseptic techniques, making it acceptable to “probe the wound with unwashed hands,” it was the main reason for Garfield’s death. Many American surgeons of that time did not adopt antiseptic surgery of Lister. Thus, this novel is not just a biography of James Garfield; it includes other elements that help discover his personality and the period of the 1880s in the life of America and its famous people.
Methodology and Sources of the Novel
Although this book is historical nonfiction, it is written in clear language and intended for a broad audience. It does not require deep knowledge of history and arouses genuine interest in Garfield’s personality and all those associated events. The novel is well-organized and divided into a prologue, four parts, and an epilogue. Moreover, the epilogue is followed by a long list of various notes, a bibliography page, and different illustrations, which show that the events described did take place in American history. The notices located behind lose their relevance a little since the reader forgets what exactly he learns in the episode of the book to which the note refers. Photos taken from historical archives, the Library of Congress, and several public libraries, are helpful and complement the story. The novel has a well-planned structure that narrates historical events and makes them vivid, memorable, and engaging.
Since Destiny of the Republic is based on historical events, it is evident that the author has done a great job, having studied an enormous number of books, articles, and, above all, archival documents. The incredibly long list of sources is located at the novel’s end and includes both primary and secondary sources. The author utilizes not only texts related to Garfield’s biography but also a variety of documents related to America in the 1880s. The sources used in this book are reputable and varied, which allowed creating the informative text.
My Opinion About the Novel
It seems to me that this novel is definitely worth reading. I like that it presents historical events not stiffly but vividly in the form of a story with detective elements. Considering the title, I thought the book would only cover the president’s injury and treatment, but it gives a broad overview of Garfield’s life. The novel proves that the modern generation unfairly forgot the story of “typical American, who has shown how man in the humblest circumstances can rise, and win, and who has come from obscurity to fame”. Millard has written a great novel, which teaches people not to give up. I also liked that the author describes the psychology of a criminal, biographies of other people, and details of political life, which allows immersing in history to the fullest. Such a vast number of facts that can be found in this book are hardly told in a history lesson. Therefore, this novel with a well-organized structure attracts readers and makes them want to know more about the described events.
Conclusion
Destiny of the Republic, centered on the personality of James Garfield, is a historical work that contributes immensely to American literature. This book presents the story of a man, who could become a great president, but was shot three months after the inauguration. Although its central theme is the fate of Garfield, it provides a broad overview of the life of American society at that time. Americans who want to know their history should read Destiny in the Republic and remind themselves that fate is unpredictable. Therefore, as Garfield did, people have to constantly improve themselves and achieve their goals without wasting time. This well-structured novel, based on many reputable sources, is worth the reader’s time. A brilliant and remarkable book captivates and allows escaping from the problems of the day, gives new knowledge, and, most importantly, narrates a real story of a great person who achieved everything by his labor.
Bibliography
Ehrhardt, John, Patrick O’Leary, and Don Nakayama. “’Yes, I Shot the President, but His Physicians Killed Him.’ The Assassination of President James A. Garfield”. The American Surgeon 84, no. 11 (2018): 1711-1716.
Millard, Candice. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President. New York: Doubleday, 2011.
Nakayama, Don. “The Slow Death of President Garfield: America’s First Live Media Event”. The American Surgeon 86, no. 11 (2020): 1433-1435.