He was just a complete nutbag. He wrote a poem in the style of “a child babbling to his mamma and his papa” which repeated “I am going to the Lordy” over and over again and read it on the way up to the gallows.
Check out the excerpts from his trial and what he said at his sentencing:
“As sure as you are alive, gentlemen, as sure as you are alive, if a hair of my head is harmed this nation will go down to desolation… all you can do is put my body in the ground, but this nation will pay for it as sure as you are alive.”
Well, shit. Do you guys think this is why things have been going so poorly lately?
Not sure if this is your thing, but Stephen Sondheim did a musical about presidential assassins and set some of the poem to music (incidentally, Guiteau said at the execution that he hoped the poem would be effective if it was set to music) as part of a longer song.
The man bought an ivory gripped pistol for the assassination because he thought it would look cooler displayed in a museum, IIRC.
He was just a complete nutbag. He wrote a poem in the style of “a child babbling to his mamma and his papa” which repeated “I am going to the Lordy” over and over again and read it on the way up to the gallows.
Check out the excerpts from his trial and what he said at his sentencing:
https://www.famous-trials.com/guiteau/2193-guiteauspeaks
https://www.famous-trials.com/guiteau/2196-sentencing
Edit: I forgot about the “Tableaux.”
https://www.famous-trials.com/guiteau/2190-shortplay
Well, shit. Do you guys think this is why things have been going so poorly lately?
Oh god how did I forget about the poem
Not sure if this is your thing, but Stephen Sondheim did a musical about presidential assassins and set some of the poem to music (incidentally, Guiteau said at the execution that he hoped the poem would be effective if it was set to music) as part of a longer song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAnHW2qwc2Y