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For generations, the family members of President Garfield spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now led to a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, featuring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and his co-star as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the economic era only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was truncated after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the deaths of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his approach and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income 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 former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against slavery and advanced to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the time. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was chosen to the legislative branch, where he would serve as a party member for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the problematic element of the patronage system. The gunman was a unstable individual with a record of career disappointments, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, bill collector, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the drama 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 logic, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a important role. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an weapon from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “My God, what is this?” and collapsed on the station floor. When a {police officer|law