Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act which would lead to several other organizations like it appearing in other cities. The presence of these organizations was one of the first steps in trying to up end the spoils system in America. The assassination of President James A. Garfield moved the Civil Service Reform from city organizations to a leading topic in the political realm. President Garfield was shot in July 1881 by Charles Guiteau, because Guiteau believed the president owed him a patronage position for his "vital assistance" in securing Garfield's election the previous year. Garfield died two months later, and Vice President Chester A. Arthur acceded
Charles J. Guiteau the work of Noyes. He wandered from town to town lecturing to any and all who would listen to his religious ramblings, and in December 1877 gave a lecture at the Congregational Church in Washington, D.C. Guiteau spent the first half of 1880 in Boston, which he left owing money and under suspicion of theft. On June 11, 1880, he was a passenger on the SS "Stonington" when it collided with the SS "Narragansett" at night in heavy fog. The "Stonington" was able to return to port, but the "Narragansett" burned to the waterline and sank, with significant loss of