Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

Underlying Themes of Novel: A Window on the America of the 1880s Guiteau was not the only one who killed James Garfield outdated and unusable treatment methods have also done their part, not letting the president implement the changes he considered necessary for the country’s development. The first one can achieve even unattainable goals, and the second “failed at everything he had tried” and who “tried nearly everything, from law to ministry to even a free-love commune”. The reader sees two different men: a talented self-taught and a lunatic loser. The author shows not only the portrait of Garfield but also of his murder, who considers that God selected him for a crucial mission. Introducing readers to Garfield’s story, Millard narrates who he was, and between the lines, it is possible to quickly understand who he could have become if Guiteau had not intervened in his fate. Therefore, Millard does not just describe the life of this man and several years of the country’s history she makes Garfield’s figure more alive and close to every reader. He was not the only president to be shot, but his story has consistently attracted less attention from modern Americans than the stories of Kennedy or Lincoln. Due to this novel, the modern reader can discover the personality of Garfield and realize that he had the great potential to become one of America’s greatest presidents. This man was not afraid of difficulties and always strived to avoid dealing doubly. He could write in ancient Greek with his left hand and in Latin with his right one he fought for the abolition of slavery and served in the Army. Until recently, people of the 21st century knew almost nothing about this man, who had been president only for several months and had not had time to take any famous laws.

It is that Millard shows in Destiny of the Republic. He was not only a lawyer, congressman, a talented orator, and ruler of the country he was also a devoted friend, an excellent father, a good husband, and an honest person of principle. Born in a rural area and forced to work on a farm after completing school, this person succeeded “not with aggression or even overt ambition, but with a passionate love of learning”. Making the novel’s central theme not only Garfield’s assassination but also his entire fate, the author describes man’s path, becoming president, shooting at a railway station, and subsequent attempts to cure him. In her book, Millard narrates an almost forgotten story about the short but significant presidency of James Garfield and two well-aimed shots of Guiteau, which together with improper treatment cut the president’s life short.

Learn more The Fate of James Garfield: A Person Who Could Become Great

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard