Bruce Chadwick’s book, I am Murdered: George Wythe, Thomas Jefferson and the Killing That Shocked a New Nation is about the murder of George Wythe, who was a noted law professor. Wythe was a towering figure and had pupils such as Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay and James Monroe. He died under mysterious circumstances and on his deathbed in 1806 had whispered to his lawyer and doctor, “I am murdered.” He was allegedly poisoned by his grandnephew. Chadwick has attempted to throw light on this twisted tale in building a convincing case that it was indeed the 17-year-old nephew of Wythe who poisoned him with arsenic in the belief that he could inherit his estates. The teenager nephew was charged with homicide and forgery in having got cheques cashed in the name of Wythe to repay his gambling dues.
Chadwick has given a detailed account of Wythe’s lengthy legal and political career as also his innovative and unorthodox educational techniques which included bringing politics and law to life by using moot legislatures and courts. The author’s depiction of the long-standing relationship that Wythe had with several of his students shows how significant his authority was in the eyes of an entire generation of leaders in Virginia. Chadwick has meticulously researched and weaved together the pertinent details in regard to urban life, slavery, medicine and law in the early 19th century in the context of the crime and trial pertaining to Wythe’s murder.
Wythe was widowed twice and had no children. He had asked his grandnephew Sweeney to live with him in the belief that he could improve upon his immoral and self-indulgent ways. Wythe’s maid had seen Sweeney one night while he was reading Wythe’s will and the next morning she saw him inserting some powder inside his coffee pot. The moment Wythe, his maid and a black servant drank the coffee; they developed symptoms of poisoning and became severely ill. Although the maid did not die, Wythe and the servant succumbed to the lethal poison. The tragedy sparked uproars and the public was struck with grief. Thousands of mourners crowded the streets of Richmond to attend the funeral. People believed that the despicable Sweeney would be immediately brought to justice and sent to the gallows for committing the most dreadful murder in the history of the nation, but unfortunately that was not to be.
Chadwick is an academician but his work shines as he takes the reader into the lives of the characters in showing how belief, culture and history influence politics, medicine and law. It is surprising to note how he has described the appalling state of medical awareness as prevailing two hundred years ago. Most shocking of his findings pertains to the medical belief during those times that any illness could be cured by simply draining certain amount of clotted bad blood from the patient’s body. The book however lacks organization since the author’s narratives relentlessly bounce the reader back and forth. For example in one chapter he refers to instances in 1806 and then to 1783, further on to 1794 and later suddenly reverts to the 1760s. Although the story is very macabre and fascinating, there are lengthy deviations on unimportant topics such as cities in Virginia, slave rebellions, gambling and history of medical education, autopsies and poisoning. While making such narrations he makes a lot of assumptions that do not have much basis by way of footnotes or references.
There could have been better editing of the book in curing the given problems. It is unfortunate that proper editing was not done although Chadwick has come out with a remarkable story. George Wythe Sweeney, the teenage grandnephew of Wythe escapes being sent to the gallows after the autopsy is heavily botched up by three of the best doctors in Virginia. The judges refused to allow testimony of Lydia Broadnax, Wythe’s black cook as also that of other slaves who had seen Sweeney acting under mysterious circumstances. Despite the given setbacks in the trial, the eyewitness accounts were ignored. Wythe’s maid had seen Sweeney putting some powder into the pot. Suspicious activity as observed by a number of eyewitnesses was ignored because they were black and their testimony under Virginia law did not have any relevance if testified against a white man in a criminal case. It was shocking that the jury took very little time in declaring Sweeney not guilty. The charge of forgery was also dismissed against him because such laws did not apply to banking operations at that time. A mockery of justice was made when Sweeney was set free and he got the opportunity to immediately shift out of the state.
The author has been unable to resist the urge to exaggerate. He has portrayed Richmond as being a crime capital and narrated that there are thieves lurking in every corner of the city. The city has been described as a center of sex, drinking, gambling, sin and extreme crimes. However putting all this aside, “I am Murdered” has excelled as a book that is full of suspense in regard to the long-forgotten murder of one of the country’s respected originators.
Works Cited
Bruce Chadwick, I Am Murdered: George Wythe, Thomas Jefferson, and the Killing That Shocked a New Nation, 2009, Wiley.