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For generations, the heirs of President Garfield shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but seldom discussed his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” reflects one of his family members. “We learned about the story in books but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled the presidential series, starring a talented performer as the national leader and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the historical period only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was truncated after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an event now mostly overlooked while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his approach and all the information about him the family carries down 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 father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an schooling.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against slavery and advanced to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the period. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a Republican for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a conflict agreement.

“His oration on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for military hero, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

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

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the surprise nominee. To placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield beat the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to 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 short presidency 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 Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the negative aspect of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a background of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the events of the political contest, 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 important role. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an handgun from his jacket 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