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Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield spoke proudly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” notes one of his living relatives. “We read about the story in books but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now led to a television production titled the presidential series, starring an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was truncated after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an incident now largely forgotten while the killings of President Lincoln and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality 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 last president raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against forced servitude and rose to the military position.

“During my investigation, 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 good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the Congress, where he would work as a party member for 17 years. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for military hero, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the general election Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage 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 executive of the United States”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a open fight but Garfield outsmarted 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 power of the presidency over the party machine and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the problematic element of the political appointment process. The gunman was a drifter with a record of career disappointments, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion 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 could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the 1880 election, 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 continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law