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Throughout history, the heirs of James Garfield shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” notes one of his living relatives. “We read about the story in books but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now led to a streaming series titled the presidential series, including an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the historical period only to succumb to its deep political rifts. His tenure was truncated after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the deaths of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his behavior and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to make funds for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against slavery and rose to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, 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 vice president. In the presidential race Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the prestigious role of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the dark side of the spoils network. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the drama of the presidential race, he created and presented an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a prestigious position. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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