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Over many years, the family members of President Garfield discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but seldom discussed his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now led to a streaming series titled the historical drama, including Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the wanderer who shot him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its deep political rifts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by doctor errors – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the deaths of President Lincoln and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect 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 shaped who he was and his behavior and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an schooling.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against slavery and advanced to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was innovative for the period. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was elected to the Congress, where he would serve as a party member for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began seeking a solution. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the general election Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was forced into the role.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who represented the negative aspect of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a record of career disappointments, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, financial agent, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

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

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an handgun from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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