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Throughout history, the family members of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but seldom discussed his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” reflects one of his family members. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now led to a streaming series titled the presidential series, featuring an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the historical period only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the killings of President Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also formed his character and his approach and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against forced servitude and progressed to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the time. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a political representative for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began searching for a solution. Garfield's powerful oration proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was forced into the role.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation turned into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

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 assassin was a drifter with a history of professional failures, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, bill collector, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for importance. 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 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had deserved a high-level government job. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

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