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For generations, the family members of James Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” explains one of his family members. “We studied the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, featuring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series promises to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the economic era only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was truncated after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an incident now frequently ignored while the assassinations of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and his behavior and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an education.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against forced servitude and progressed to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the time. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for military hero, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a solution. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was forced into the role.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the political organization and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the problematic element of the spoils network. The gunman was a wanderer with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a attorney, bill collector, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had deserved a high-level government job. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an handgun from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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