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For generations, the family members of James Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the publication of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now resulted in a streaming series titled the presidential series, featuring an acclaimed actor as the president and another skilled actor as the drifter who shot him.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the Gilded Age 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 physician mistakes – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the killings of President Lincoln and JFK continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also formed his character and how he was and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an education.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against slavery and progressed to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the time. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was selected to the Congress, where he would function as a party member for 17 years. He was strong supporter of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for former president, 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 gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech supporting Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield beat the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe unique to 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 central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the negative aspect of the spoils network. The gunman was a drifter with a record of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, financial agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield cried out: “Why is this occurring?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law