James A. Garfield and Civil Service Reform with CW Goodyear

In this episode, Matt and Charlie talk about the 20th President, James A. Garfield.  While most Americans wouldn't be able to pick Garfield out of a lineup, and he was only president for a handful of months before he died of an assassin's bullet and the ensuing infection that came from the primitive medical care available in the late 19th century.  The wheels of motion for his assassination were set in motion by a decision that seems small and quirky today, but which was incredibly consequential at the time and shook the foundations of Machine Politics and the Spoils System that dominated American politics in the 19th century.

Charlie Goodyear
C.W.Goodyear is an author and historian based in Washington, DC. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and grew up abroad before graduating from Yale University.

His latest work is President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier, a critically acclaimed biography of America's 20th President.

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