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Over many years, the family members of President Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his violent end. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” explains one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now led to a streaming series titled the historical drama, featuring an acclaimed actor as the president and his co-star as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was cut short after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by doctor errors – an event now largely forgotten while the deaths of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to intrigue 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 farmer. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and how he was and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against forced servitude and progressed to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was innovative for the time. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a party member for 17 years. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began seeking a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech supporting Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“What would have made Garfield great 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 thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the prestigious role 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 nation's leader”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his associate left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who represented the problematic element of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a background of occupational setbacks, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, bill collector, minister and member of a alternative community.

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

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the events of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had merited a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield cried out: “My God, what is this?” and dropped on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law