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For generations, the descendants of President Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but seldom discussed his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, featuring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was cut short after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by doctor errors – an event now frequently ignored while the deaths of the Civil War president and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and how he was and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an schooling.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against slavery and progressed to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the era. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the legislative branch, where he would work as a party member for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“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 faction was deeply divided between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech 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 wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the problematic element of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a history of occupational setbacks, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that religious calling for greatness. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had earned a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an weapon from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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