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Throughout history, the descendants of President Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his violent end. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” notes one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now led to a television production titled the presidential series, including a talented performer as the president and another skilled actor as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the historical period only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was cut short after only half a year not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now frequently ignored while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and how he was and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against forced servitude and progressed to the military position.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the era. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a military promise.

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

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the dark side of the patronage system. The assassin was a wanderer with a history of occupational setbacks, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the 1880 election, he created and presented an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau calculated he had earned a high-level government job. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, insisting to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield cried out: “Why is this occurring?” and collapsed on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law