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Over many years, the heirs of President Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” notes one of his family members. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now resulted in a streaming series titled the presidential series, starring a talented performer as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the highest office during the economic era only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was truncated after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an incident now frequently ignored while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also formed his character and his approach and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against human bondage and rose to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the era. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for 17 years. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a military promise.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield beat the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation turned into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the problematic element of the spoils network. The assassin was a drifter with a history of professional failures, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a legal professional, financial agent, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had merited a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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