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For generations, the descendants of the 20th US president shared stories about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” notes one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now inspired a streaming series titled the presidential series, featuring Michael Shannon as the national leader and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an event now largely forgotten while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and how he was and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an education.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against slavery and rose to the military position.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the time. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would work as a Republican for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by an influential figure, 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 deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“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 entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling demanded control over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his associate left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the faction system and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the problematic element 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 free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had earned a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

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

Garfield shouted: “My God, what is this?” and fell on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law