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For generations, the family members of President Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in books but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now resulted in a streaming series titled the historical drama, featuring an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the drifter who shot him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the historical period only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was cut short after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an event now frequently ignored while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: 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 behavior and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an education.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, 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 ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against human bondage and rose to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the era. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a political representative for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe special for the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the dark side of the political appointment process. The assassin was a unstable individual with a background of career disappointments, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the presidential race, he created and presented an minor oration, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an weapon from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and dropped on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law