Destiny of the Republic: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of Destiny of the Republic, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
A poor boy became president
Millard tells the story of James Garfield, who grew up in poverty on the Ohio frontier, educated himself and became a scholar, soldier and congressman.
He reluctantly accepted the Republican nomination for president in 1880 and won.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
An unstable man targeted him
Millard describes Charles Guiteau, a mentally unstable man who believed he deserved a government job for supporting Garfield.
When he was turned away, he decided that God wanted him to kill the president.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
Garfield was shot in 1881
Only months into his presidency, Garfield was shot by Guiteau at a Washington railway station.
The bullet did not kill him immediately, and many believed he could survive. Doctors rushed to his side.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
Doctors made things worse
Millard argues that Garfield's doctors, led by Doctor Willard Bliss, probed his wound with unwashed fingers and instruments.
They ignored new ideas about antiseptic care, and infection spread. Their pride and outdated methods proved fatal.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
Bell tried to find the bullet
Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, built a metal detector to locate the bullet.
His device failed, partly because doctors searched only where they assumed the bullet was.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
The president died slowly
Garfield suffered for weeks before dying from infection.
Millard argues that he might have survived with better medical care. Infection spread through his body while the nation waited anxiously for news.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
The nation united in grief
Millard describes how the country, still divided after the Civil War, united in sympathy for the dying president.
His suffering brought people together. Old wounds began to heal. Grief united them.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Reform followed tragedy
After Garfield's death, Congress passed civil service reforms to reduce the practice of giving government jobs as political rewards.
His death helped bring change. Merit replaced patronage in many government jobs.
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