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Over many years, the heirs of President Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” reflects one of his family members. “We read about the story in publications but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now resulted in a streaming series titled the historical drama, including an acclaimed actor as the president and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the economic era only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His presidency was truncated after only half a year not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an incident now mostly overlooked while the killings of the Civil War president and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, 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 descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against forced servitude and progressed to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the Congress, where he would function as a political representative for multiple terms. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the political organization was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a solution. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe special for the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the dark side of the spoils network. The gunman was a wanderer with a record of career disappointments, emotional issues and early life difficulties. He had failed as a attorney, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the political contest, he created and presented an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had earned a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an weapon from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

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