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Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” reflects one of his family members. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, including Michael Shannon as the president and another skilled actor as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was cut short after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an event now frequently ignored while the assassinations of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against slavery and advanced to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the time. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a party member for 17 years. He was dedicated proponent of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield beat the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to 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 clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role 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 proposed a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his associate left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the dark side of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a record of career disappointments, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, bill collector, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the 1880 election, he created and presented an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned 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, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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