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Throughout history, the heirs of the 20th US president discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” reflects one of his family members. “We learned about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, starring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the highest office during the economic era only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was truncated after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an incident now largely forgotten while the deaths of the Civil War president and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also formed his character and how he was and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an schooling.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against slavery and rose to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a Republican for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a conflict agreement.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, 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 Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

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

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over political positions in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his associate left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the political organization and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who represented the dark side of the political appointment process. The assassin was a unstable individual with a history of professional failures, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a attorney, financial agent, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had merited a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an weapon from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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