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Throughout history, the descendants of the 20th US president shared stories about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” notes one of his family members. “We studied the story in books but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now resulted in a television production titled the historical drama, featuring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was truncated after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now mostly overlooked while the killings of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and how he was and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mother, 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 became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against slavery and progressed to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was elected to the Congress, where he would work as a political representative for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was very important to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. 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 looking for a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield beat the Democratic nominee to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Disturbed Mind

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 assassin was a drifter with a history of career disappointments, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, financial agent, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had deserved a high-level government job. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

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