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Throughout history, the heirs of the 20th US president discussed openly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, starring an acclaimed actor as the president and another skilled actor as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His presidency was cut short after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an event now largely forgotten while the deaths of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his approach and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against slavery and rose to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the time. He was kind. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this matter was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a backer of his close associate John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “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 wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare 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 defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the dark side of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a background of professional failures, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the events of the 1880 election, he created and presented an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a prestigious position. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an handgun from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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