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For generations, the family members of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in books but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now led to a television production titled the presidential series, including a talented performer as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series promises to shine a light on Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was cut short after only several months 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 intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and his approach and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an education.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against slavery and advanced to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the Congress, where he would work as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his close associate John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the general election Garfield beat the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was forced into the role.”

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 powerful and lucrative post 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 executive of the United States”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the negative aspect of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a drifter with a background of career disappointments, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the drama of the presidential race, he created and presented an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an handgun from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield cried out: “Why is this occurring?” and dropped on the station floor. When a {police officer|law