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Primary sourceDocument1881-1882

United States v. Guiteau Trial Record

Supreme Court of the District of Columbia · 1881-1882

The official court record of the 1881–1882 trial of Charles Guiteau, who assassinated President Garfield.

Documents the trial of Guiteau, whose assassination of Garfield was partly tied to the patronage system Garfield opposed.

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Scan of the cover of a book with a beige background. Handwritten call number reads E687 .9 .P84 in black ink at top left. A white Library of Congress barcode label with the number 00019868734 and a red dot sits at bottom center.
United States v. Guiteau trial record, 1881-1882.

About this source

What it is

This is the legal record of the trial of Charles Guiteau, held before the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia in 1881–1882, after he assassinated President James A. Garfield. The surviving copy is catalogued at the Library of Congress.

Why it matters

Guiteau's trial revealed that he had sought a government job from Garfield's administration and acted partly out of anger at being refused. This connection between Guiteau's motive and the patronage, or 'spoils,' system helped push forward civil service reform, a cause Garfield had supported before his death.

Look closer

  • What does the trial record suggest about Guiteau's reasons for the assassination?
  • Why might a trial transcript be a more reliable historical source than a newspaper report of the same events?
  • What is left out of a court record that a biography of Garfield might include?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of James A. Garfield on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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