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Throughout history, the heirs of James Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” reflects one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in books but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, featuring an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the historical period only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was cut short after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by doctor errors – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the killings of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an formal learning.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against human bondage and rose to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the period. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a party member for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the realization of a conflict agreement.

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

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman won them over. 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 extended selection process, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield beat the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was forced into the role.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the problematic element of the spoils network. The assassin was a unstable individual with a record of career disappointments, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, financial agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the drama of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had merited a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding 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 banned from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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