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Throughout history, the descendants of James Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but seldom discussed his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now led to a streaming series titled the presidential series, starring an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the historical period only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to intrigue 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 multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his approach and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain 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 dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an education.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against human bondage and rose to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the era. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a military promise.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

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

On the multiple voting round, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield beat the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the dark side of the patronage system. The gunman was a drifter with a record of professional failures, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had failed as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the drama of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had earned a important role. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just four months 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 jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

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