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Throughout history, the descendants of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” explains one of his family members. “We read about the story in books but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, including Michael Shannon as the national leader and his co-star as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was cut short after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now frequently ignored while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and his behavior and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in challenging conditions. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an education.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. 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 moral battle against slavery and progressed to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term 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 entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the problematic element of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a history of career disappointments, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had failed as a lawyer, bill collector, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the drama of the presidential race, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a important role. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his educational gathering. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “My God, what is this?” and collapsed on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law