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Over many years, the heirs of the 20th US president shared stories about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” notes one of his family members. “We learned about the story in books but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now inspired a streaming series titled the historical drama, including a talented performer as the national leader and another skilled actor as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the economic era only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was cut short after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the deaths of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire 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 behavior and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

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 parent, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against slavery and progressed to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the period. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a Republican for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this matter was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

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

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Government Conflicts

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about 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 brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Gunman 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 patronage system. The gunman was a unstable individual with a history of career disappointments, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, financial agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection 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 eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the events of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had merited a important role. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, produced an weapon from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

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