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For generations, the family members of the 20th US president discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled the presidential series, including Michael Shannon as the president and another skilled actor as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series promises to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only half a year not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an event now largely forgotten while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also formed his character and how he was and all the information about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against human bondage and progressed to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the era. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a party member for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“His oration on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for military hero, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman won them over. 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 stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a visible struggle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the negative aspect of the patronage system. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, financial agent, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, 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 insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had deserved a high-level government job. He went to the capital and continuously bothered 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 nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an handgun from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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