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For generations, the family members of President Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, starring a talented performer as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its deep political rifts. His tenure was cut short after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the deaths of President Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many 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 final national leader raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an formal learning.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College 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 internal struggle as a righteous fight against forced servitude and advanced to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the Congress, where he would work 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 wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe particular about the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term 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 declined, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who represented the negative aspect of the spoils network. The assassin was a drifter with a record of career disappointments, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a attorney, bill collector, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the drama of the presidential race, he created and presented an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an handgun from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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