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Throughout history, the descendants of James Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” notes one of his family members. “We studied the story in books but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now inspired a streaming series titled the historical drama, including a talented performer as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the historical period only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was cut short after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by doctor errors – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his behavior and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels 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 political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against forced servitude and advanced to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the Congress, where he would serve as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began searching for a solution. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual 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 pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his colleague left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the negative aspect of the spoils network. The assassin was a unstable individual with a record of professional failures, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had deserved a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

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