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Over many years, the family members of President Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in books but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The publication has now inspired a streaming series titled the historical drama, including an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an incident now frequently ignored while the killings of President Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and his approach and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against slavery and advanced to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would work as a political representative for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this matter was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the general election Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe particular about the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the problematic element of the political appointment process. The gunman was a unstable individual with a record of professional failures, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, bill collector, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the drama of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a important role. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a role for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield cried out: “Why is this occurring?” and collapsed on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law