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Over many years, the descendants of President Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but seldom discussed his violent end. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” explains one of his family members. “We studied the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, including a talented performer as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the highest office during the economic era only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His tenure was cut short after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an event now frequently ignored while the deaths of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also formed his character and his approach and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an education.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against slavery and rose to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the Congress, where he would function as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual 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 central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the problematic element of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a background of career disappointments, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the events of the political contest, he created and presented an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a high-level government job. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau emerged from hiding, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield cried out: “My God, what is this?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law