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For generations, the heirs of President Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but seldom discussed his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a transportation hub,” explains one of his living relatives. “We read about the story in publications but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now resulted in a streaming series titled the presidential series, including Michael Shannon as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the economic era only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was truncated after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an incident now frequently ignored while the killings of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his approach and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against human bondage and advanced to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would serve as a party member for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, 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 massive gathering was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe special for 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 short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who represented the dark side of the political appointment process. The gunman was a unstable individual with a record of occupational setbacks, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, bill collector, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for significance. 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 way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the events of the presidential race, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his jacket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield cried out: “My God, what is this?” and dropped on the station floor. When a {police officer|law