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Over many years, the family members of James Garfield shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about 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 publications but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now led to a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, starring a talented performer as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His tenure was cut short after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by doctor errors – an event now mostly overlooked while the deaths of President Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also formed his character and how he was and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an education.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against human bondage and rose to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was remarkably smart. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the time. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to leave army service when he was chosen to the legislative branch, where he would serve as a Republican for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great 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 never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the political organization and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who represented the problematic element of the spoils network. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a history of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

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

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding 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 excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

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

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