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Throughout history, the heirs of President Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” explains one of his living relatives. “We read about the story in publications but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, including an acclaimed actor as the national leader and his co-star as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the economic era only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was truncated after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now largely forgotten while the deaths of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was like a multi-threat: 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 the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an schooling.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against human bondage and rose to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the era. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a Republican for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a military promise.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for military hero, and the “opposing faction”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a solution. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the party machine and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the problematic element of the political appointment process. The assassin was a wanderer with a record of professional failures, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a attorney, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection 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 at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the events of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had merited a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an weapon from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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