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For generations, the family members of President Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” explains one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in books but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now led to a streaming series titled the historical drama, starring a talented performer as the president and his co-star as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His presidency was truncated after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and how he was and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, his partner, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against forced servitude and progressed to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the time. He was kind. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a party member for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a conflict agreement.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, 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 supporter of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, 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 appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield beat the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements 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 entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the negative aspect of the political appointment process. The assassin was a wanderer with a record of professional failures, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, bill collector, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. 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 was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the events of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had earned a important role. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem 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 departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “What's happening?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law