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Over many years, the family members of James Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “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 a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now inspired a television production titled the presidential series, including Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the wanderer who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the historical period only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His tenure was cut short after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now mostly overlooked while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a land worker. 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.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An dedicated student, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became head of a school in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against human bondage and progressed to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the period. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the Congress, where he would serve as a party member for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a military promise.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “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 unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. 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 Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was forced into the role.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a landmark victory for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a psychologically troubled person who represented the negative aspect of the patronage system. The assassin was a drifter with a record of career disappointments, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him 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 eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the events of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had merited a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting 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 Assassination 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 passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, produced 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 dropped on the station floor. When a {police officer|law