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Throughout history, the family members of the 20th US president discussed openly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” explains one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, starring Michael Shannon as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who shot him.

The series promises to shine a light on Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the historical period only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an event now frequently ignored while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and his behavior and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an education.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against slavery and rose to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the Congress, where he would work as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a conflict agreement.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

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

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

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 entirely ignored the possibility but he was forced into the role.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the faction system and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the problematic element of the political appointment process. The gunman was a wanderer with a history of professional failures, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a attorney, financial agent, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. 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 at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the drama of the political contest, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

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

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