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For generations, the heirs of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now inspired a streaming series titled the presidential series, featuring a talented performer as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was ended prematurely after only half a year not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now mostly overlooked while the killings of President Lincoln and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and how he was and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an formal learning.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against slavery and advanced to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his close associate 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 impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the negative aspect of the spoils network. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, bill collector, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had deserved a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his educational gathering. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law