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For generations, the heirs of the 20th US president discussed openly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in books but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now inspired a television production titled the presidential series, featuring an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the economic era only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office 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 assassinations of the Civil War president and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and how he was and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against human bondage and advanced to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the period. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a political representative for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a conflict agreement.

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

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

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

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the general election Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the political organization and for the change movement 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 exemplified the problematic element of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a drifter with a background of career disappointments, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, financial agent, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the events of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an weapon from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law