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Over many years, the descendants of President Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but avoided talking about his violent end. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now led to a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, featuring a talented performer as the president and his co-star as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the historical period only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was truncated after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the killings of President Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and how he was and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in challenging conditions. An dedicated student, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an education.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against forced servitude and progressed to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a party member for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a conflict agreement.

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

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a solution. Garfield's powerful oration supporting Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the surprise nominee. To placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was forced into the role.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over political positions in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a public battle 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 confirmed. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who represented the problematic element of the patronage system. The assassin was a wanderer with a history of professional failures, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the drama of the political contest, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had earned a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield shouted: “What's happening?” and collapsed on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law