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Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield spoke proudly about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now inspired a television production titled the historical drama, featuring a talented performer as the national leader and another skilled actor 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 become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was cut short after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now largely forgotten 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 a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also formed his character and his approach and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to support a large family in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an formal learning.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against slavery and progressed to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the Congress, where he would function as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the realization of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating 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 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who exemplified the problematic element of the patronage system. The gunman was a unstable individual with a history of professional failures, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the events of the political contest, he prepared and gave an minor oration, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had earned a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “My God, what is this?” and fell on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law