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Throughout history, the family members of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The publication has now resulted in a streaming series titled the presidential series, featuring an acclaimed actor as the president and another skilled actor as the wanderer who shot him.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by doctor errors – an incident now frequently ignored while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and how he was and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

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 care for multiple kids in hard times. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against human bondage and rose to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a party member for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, 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 chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who represented the dark side of the political appointment process. The gunman was a drifter with a history of career disappointments, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a attorney, financial agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the drama of the 1880 election, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had merited a high-level government job. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he moved through the transportation center, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

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