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For generations, the family members of the 20th US president shared stories about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” notes one of his family members. “We studied the story in books but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now led to a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, featuring a talented performer as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the historical period only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now mostly overlooked while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and how he was and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against forced servitude and advanced to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment 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 deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, delegates, 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 surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the negative aspect of the spoils network. The assassin was a unstable individual with a record of professional failures, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had earned a high-level government job. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On the tragic date, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

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