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Throughout history, the heirs of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” reflects one of his family members. “We read about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled the presidential series, including Michael Shannon as the national leader and another skilled actor as the drifter 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 toxic political divisions. His time in office was truncated after only half a year not only by the assassin's bullet but by doctor errors – an incident now mostly overlooked while the assassinations of the Civil War president and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was so many things which also formed his character and how he was 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 coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an education.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against human bondage and progressed to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the period. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by President Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would work as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech supporting Sherman caught their attention. 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 extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease 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 beat the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“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 entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling demanded control over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position 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 confrontation became a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his colleague left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the negative aspect of the spoils network. The gunman was a drifter with a history of career disappointments, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the events of the 1880 election, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had deserved a prestigious position. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he moved through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “What's happening?” and collapsed on the station floor. When a {police officer|law