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Over many years, the descendants of James Garfield spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The publication has now resulted in a streaming series titled the presidential series, featuring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series promises to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the Gilded Age only to fall victim 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 doctor errors – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the assassinations of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and how he was and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An dedicated student, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against human bondage and advanced to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the era. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a Republican for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a military promise.

“His oration on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for military hero, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration supporting Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield beat the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He proposed a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the faction system and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who represented the problematic element of the spoils network. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a record of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the events of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had deserved a important role. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered 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 nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his educational gathering. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “What's happening?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law