A mentally ill and disgruntled former Democrat, [[Charles J. Guiteau]], believed he could easily obtain a high-ranking government post through the spoils system.<ref name=npsinfo/> In the 1880 election, he initially prepared a speech to be given in front of a large crowd in support of Grant, believing the latter would be nominated. After Garfield was picked instead, Guiteau simply replaced all mentions of "Grant" with "Garfield."<ref name=npsinfo/> Subsequent to excessively pleading Republican leaders for a chance to give the speech, he only delivered it to a small crowd that was puzzled rather than roaring with applause. | A mentally ill and disgruntled former Democrat, [[Charles J. Guiteau]], believed he could easily obtain a high-ranking government post through the spoils system.<ref name=npsinfo/> In the 1880 election, he initially prepared a speech to be given in front of a large crowd in support of Grant, believing the latter would be nominated. After Garfield was picked instead, Guiteau simply replaced all mentions of "Grant" with "Garfield."<ref name=npsinfo/> Subsequent to excessively pleading Republican leaders for a chance to give the speech, he only delivered it to a small crowd that was puzzled rather than roaring with applause. |