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Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his violent end. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” explains one of his family members. “We learned about the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now led to a streaming series titled the presidential series, featuring an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the economic era only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the deaths of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and his approach and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to make funds for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against human bondage and progressed to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the era. He was kind. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a solution. Garfield's powerful oration supporting Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. 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 only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe special for the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling insisted on authority over political positions in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the negative aspect of the political appointment process. The gunman was a drifter with a record of occupational setbacks, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, bill collector, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the drama of the presidential race, he prepared and gave 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 journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an handgun from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

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