Was Washington Assassinated?

On a December day of 1799, the 67 year old George Washington mounted his horse to survey his farms. It was an early winter day with snow and sleet, but the first president of the US, who retired from office two years earlier, was still a strong and robust man in good health. Upon return to home from the sleety weather, Washington found a group of guest waiting for him. He decided to see them right away, without changing his wet clothes. On the following day Washington complained of soar throat, but still went out in arctic weather to mark trees for cutting. He soon developed high fever, chest congestion and had difficulty to breathe. In accordance with the prevalent practice of the "heroic cures" of the era, Washington asked his estate overseer, George Rawlins, to remove about a pint of blood from his feverish body. Martha, Washington's wife, was deeply worried. She summoned George's personal physicians and friends, Dr. James Craik and Dr. G. Richard Brown for consultation. The two doctors were also joined by a third medicine man, Dr. Elisha C. Dick. The doctors diagnosed quinsy, a severe inflammation of the throat, with an abscess around the tonsils. And they wanted to perform immediately more bloodletting. Martha felt danger and objected. However, the doctors insisted that removing blood was absolutely necessary and they promptly began the procedure. Opening Washington's veins with their two-edged surgical lancets, the physicians removed about 2.4 liters blood, or 40 % of his total blood volume, in less than a day. And thus, the first American president died on December 14,1799, of a hypovolemic shock, resulting from the enormous blood loss. Although there is no evidence that his doctors murdered Washington, their "heroic medicine", killed him nevertheless. And in spite of the widespread medical routine of bloodletting in the 18th century, an established practice of mainstream medicine in that time, the death of George Washington, even if not viewed as a case of intentional killing, it still appears to be a case of grave malpractice, probably also by the standards of those days, since his doctors had completely failed to use reasonable care and professional judgment.