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For generations, the heirs of the 20th US president shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” explains one of his living relatives. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, including an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the historical period only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was truncated after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now largely forgotten while the deaths of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also formed his character and his behavior and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to make funds for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against forced servitude and progressed to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was elected to the legislative branch, where he would work as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator 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 an influential figure, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, representatives, 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 surprise nominee. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield overcame the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was forced into the role.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of customs official. Garfield refused, 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 dispute turned into a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the negative aspect of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a background of career disappointments, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill 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 succeeded and advanced, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the excitement 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 thinking, Guiteau calculated he had merited a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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