So just who was
Julia Sand? I'd never heard of her until I read Candice Millard's
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, an amazing account of
James A. Garfield's life and the assassination attempt on him while serving as president.
Garfield, an extraordinary man, was actually nominated for president against his will. However, four months after his inauguration, he was shot in the back by the deranged
Charles Guiteau, who'd sought a political office in Garfield's administration.
It wasn't the would-be assassin's bullet that killed the president, but rather the medical treatment Garfield received. As Garfield suffered for nearly two months, the nation was thrown into turmoil, and during this time, Vice President
Chester A. Arthur ( a not so extraordinary man) stayed in seclusion. When Guiteau was apprehended he announced his wish for Arthur to become president. Because of this, there was a brief
investigation into whether Guiteau had been hired by Garfield’s enemies.
Although no proof was found to support this, there were threats made on Arthur’s life and he feared making
public appearances. Arthur’s past was linked to some scandals
involving the New York Customhouse and many thought Arthur as president would mean disaster for the country.
Here's where
Julia Sand fits into the equation. She corresponded with Arthur beginning in late August of 1881, before Garfield's death. Her last
surviving letter is dated September 15, 1883. Sand referred
to herself as the President’s “little dwarf”, alluding to the idea that in a
royal court, the dwarf is the only one with courage enough to tell the truth.
Sand was an educated woman who lived in New York, yet when she began writing Arthur at age 31, she was bedridden due to spinal trouble,
lameness and deafness. What I'm posting below is a portion of Sand's first letter to the would-be president:
The day [Garfield] was shot, the thought rose
in a thousand minds that you might be the instigator of the foul
act. Is not that a humiliation which cuts deeper then any bullet can
pierce?
Your kindest opponents say "Arthur will try
to do right"– adding gloomily –"He won’t succeed though making a
man President cannot change him."
…But making a man President can
change him! Great emergencies awaken generous traits which have lain
dormant half a life. If there is a spark of true nobility in you,
now is the occasion to let it shine. Faith in your better nature
forces me to write to you – but not to beg you to resign. Do what is
more difficult & brave. Reform!
It is not proof of highest
goodness never to have done wrong, but it is proof of it, sometimes
in ones career, to pause & ponder, to recognize the evil,
to
recognize the evil, to turn resolutely against it…. Once in
awhile there comes a
crisis which renders miracles feasible. The
great tidal wave of sorrow which has
rolled over the country has
swept you loose from your old moorings & set you on
a
mountaintop, alone.
Disappoint our fears. Force the nation to
have faith in you. Show from the first
that you have none but the
purest of aims.
You cannot slink back into obscurity, if you
would. A hundred years hence,
school boys will recite you name in
the list of Presidents & tell of your
administration. And what
shall posterity say? It is for you to choose….
Apparently, her words of encouragement inspired and changed him. At the end of his presidency, Arthur earned praise from his contemporaries for his solid performance in office. In 1886, the
New York World wrote: "No
duty was neglected in his administration, and no adventurous project alarmed the
nation."And according to Mark Twain, "[I]t
would be hard indeed to better President Arthur's administration."
Had you ever heard of Julia Sand? Also, can you think of anyone you can encourage today? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!
