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For generations, the descendants of the 20th US president discussed openly about his impressive career but seldom discussed his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” notes one of his family members. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now resulted in a streaming series titled the historical drama, featuring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and another skilled actor as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the economic era only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by doctor errors – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the killings of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate 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 minister, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and his behavior and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a righteous fight against human bondage and rose to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the time. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a Republican for 17 years. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was forced into the role.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post 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 dispute turned into a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the faction system and for the change movement 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 represented the problematic element of the spoils network. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a record of career disappointments, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had failed as a lawyer, bill collector, religious figure and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had earned a important role. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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