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Throughout history, the family members of the 20th US president discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” reflects one of his family members. “We read about the story in books but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now led to a streaming series titled the presidential series, featuring an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who shot him.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the economic era only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by doctor errors – an event now mostly overlooked while the killings of the Civil War president and JFK continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a farmer. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became head of a school 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 civil war as a holy crusade against forced servitude and rose to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the period. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a party member for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a compromise. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield beat the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual 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 major battle of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a psychologically troubled person who exemplified the problematic element of the political appointment process. The gunman was a drifter with a history of professional failures, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had failed as a attorney, bill collector, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had deserved a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an weapon from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “My God, what is this?” and dropped on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law