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Over many years, the descendants of President Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in books but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now resulted in a television production titled the presidential series, starring an acclaimed actor as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who shot him.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the historical period only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His presidency was truncated after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now largely forgotten while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and his behavior and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to make funds for an education.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, 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 dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against human bondage and progressed to the rank of major general.

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

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was chosen to the Congress, where he would function as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a solution. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield beat the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe particular about the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control 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 “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the dark side of the spoils network. The gunman was a drifter with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, 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 political contest, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had merited a important role. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield cried out: “What's happening?” and dropped on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law