James Garfield Assassination

Throughout the history of the United States, men and women of all races and nationalities have contributed to the successes and failures of the United States. Out of the failures, the United States has grown and developed new strategies and mechanisms with which to move forward. With this in mind, through the assignment below you are going to learn about one such situation that moved the United States forward in how the country has transitioned to a more modern government in regard to the connection between political favors and moral, ethical politics.  In chapter twenty of your textbook, you are to read “The Assassination of a President” found under caption 20.10. As you read, think about what the article said happened to President James Garfield and why the assassin, Charles Guiteau, sought to kill President James Garfield. After you have read the article in the book, click here  and read a description of the assassination from the Salt Lake Herald. (To enlarge the article, hold down the control button with the + button your keyboard.) As you read the newspaper article consider the following: What descriptive details does the paper give about the assassination of James Garfield? What was the reaction of those around President Garfield to the assassination? What did Charles Guiteau have to say about the assassination? What does the article have to say about the health of the president after the shooting? Now for your assignment. You are a researcher for the Carthage Daily Times (fictional newspaper). Your job is to find out how, why, and where James Garfield was shot. In doing so, your primary goal is to get at the real reason that Charles Guiteau shot President Garfield and how it connects to what the textbook has to say about political corruption associated with the patronage system. This will give you some understanding as to how this whole event as a major historical failure in American History. It will also give you some understanding as to how the United States overcame and improved as a society. In doing your research, you are to use the book, the Salt Lake Herald Article, and outside sources to put your story together. Please refer to the following guidelines in building content for your paper: First, find out the specifics about the assassination as mentioned above. Research in your book the overall characteristics involving the patronage system (chapter twenty) As you read the Salt Lake Herald article, take notes on the newsworthy items which pertain to the assignment. Turn your attention to the sources you found. What are you finding about why Guiteau assassinated the president and how did this link to the patronage system? What impact did this whole episode (the shooting and the trial of Guiteau) have on the future of the presidency in the United States? In other words, how was this a historical failure and how was it corrected? Hints: Be sure to consider civil service reform and President Chester Arthur. After you have answered the above information, begin constructing your paper. Keep in mind the formatting requirements below. Also, keep in mind that you are writing a newspaper article. You will want to appeal to the public in terms of writing style that is interesting and relevant.  Your audience is modern America (i.e., the time in which you are living. As such you can make references to modern conveniences of life, but you should also bring the reader up to speed with the elements of the day in which you are writing about. Although it is a newspaper article, you will still be graded on proper grammar and sentence structure. Remember, that although the target audience is your generation that your professor is also part of the audience! Your paper must follow the following formatting guidelines: Your paper should be between 600-800 words. Papers which are short of the 600-word count requirement will receive a grade of zero. Papers more than 800 words in length will be penalized five points. Your paper must be organized into an introduction, body, and conclusive paragraphs. Paragraphs should be six-ten sentences long. The paper must be double-spaced. Failure to double-space will result in a five-point penalty. The paper must be properly cited with footnotes and a bibliography. Failure to do either or both will result in a zero on the paper. You must cite the book and the newspaper article provided above You must cite at least two additional outside sources They can be either primary or secondary sources. The paper must contain a cover page. Remember that any paper matching 40% or more for plagiarism will be assigned a “0” in accordance with the academic honesty policy for the course.