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Throughout history, the descendants of James Garfield spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a transportation hub,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in publications but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now led to a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, featuring an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who shot him.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the killings of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his behavior and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

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 mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against human bondage and rose to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the era. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a party member for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for military hero, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began seeking a solution. Garfield's powerful oration proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling demanded control over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the faction system and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who represented the negative aspect of the political appointment process. The assassin was a wanderer with a record of career disappointments, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had failed as a lawyer, bill collector, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a prestigious position. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, insisting to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

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