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For generations, the heirs of President Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but seldom discussed his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” explains one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in books but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The publication has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, featuring Michael Shannon as the national leader and his co-star as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now mostly overlooked while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and JFK continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to make funds for an formal learning.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against forced servitude and progressed to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the era. He was kind. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was elected to the Congress, where he would function as a party member for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena 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 party was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

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

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

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

The conflict turned into a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the faction system and for the change movement over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the problematic element of the political appointment process. The assassin was a drifter with a record of career disappointments, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, bill collector, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had earned a high-level government job. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an handgun from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “What's happening?” and dropped on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law