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Over many years, the family members of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” explains one of his family members. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now inspired a streaming series titled the presidential series, including an acclaimed actor as the national leader and his co-star as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its deep political rifts. His presidency was truncated after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an incident now mostly overlooked while the deaths of the Civil War president and JFK continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also formed his character and his approach and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he wed a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against human bondage and progressed to the military position.

“During my investigation, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the era. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a conflict agreement.

“His oration on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a solution. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the general election Garfield beat the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

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 short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his colleague left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was confirmed. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the party machine and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the dark side of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a record of professional failures, emotional issues and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a attorney, financial agent, religious figure and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the events of the 1880 election, he created and presented an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had deserved a high-level government job. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he moved through the transportation center, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an weapon from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “What's happening?” and collapsed on the station floor. When a {police officer|law