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For generations, the descendants of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but seldom discussed his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, featuring a talented performer as the national leader and his co-star as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series promises to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the highest office during the economic era only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the assassinations of the Civil War president and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was so many things which also formed his character and how he was and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an schooling.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against forced servitude and progressed to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the time. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the Congress, where he would function as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“His oration on the House chamber will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the faction was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a compromise. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the change movement over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the dark side of the political appointment process. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was false belief. He always believed that religious calling for significance. 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 route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had merited a important role. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a problem that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “My God, what is this?” and collapsed on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law