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Over many years, the descendants of President Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” explains one of his family members. “We learned about the story in books but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now inspired a television production titled the historical drama, including Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His time in office was cut short after only half a year not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an event now frequently ignored while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and how he was and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a righteous fight against human bondage and rose to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was innovative for the period. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a Republican for 17 years. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

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

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

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

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Short Presidency and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over political positions in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who represented the problematic element of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a drifter with a record of professional failures, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, bill collector, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. 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 finally found a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the 1880 election, 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 reasoning, Guiteau determined he had merited a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

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