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For generations, the descendants of the 20th US president discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” explains one of his family members. “We learned about the story in books but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled the historical drama, featuring a talented performer as the president and his co-star as the wanderer who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now frequently ignored while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and his approach and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against human bondage and rose to the military position.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the era. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was elected to the Congress, where he would function as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a compromise. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a rush of supporters made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the problematic element of the patronage system. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of career disappointments, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a attorney, financial agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. 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 eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the drama of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had deserved a important role. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an weapon from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “Why is this occurring?” and collapsed on the station floor. When a {police officer|law