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 months later from infections related to the wounds. In January 1882, Guiteau was sentenced to death for the crime, and was hanged five months later. Guiteau was born in Freeport, Illinois, the fourth of six children of Jane August (née Howe) and Luther Wilson Guiteau, whose family was of French Huguenot ancestry. He moved with his family to Ulao, Wisconsin (near current-day Grafton), in 1850 and lived there until 1855, when his mother died. Soon after, Guiteau and his father moved back to Freeport. He inherited $1,000 ($ today) from his grandfather as a young man and went to Ann