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Throughout history, the descendants of James Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” reflects one of his family members. “We read about the story in books but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now led to a television production titled the presidential series, featuring Michael Shannon as the president and his co-star as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now mostly overlooked while the killings of President Lincoln and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and his behavior and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an education.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against human bondage and advanced to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the legislative branch, where he would function as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his close associate John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the shocking choice. To placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation 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 “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation turned into a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the problematic element of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a history of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had earned a prestigious position. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — 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 Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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