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Throughout history, the heirs of the 20th US president shared stories about his impressive career but avoided talking about his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The publication has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, including Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the historical period only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His tenure was truncated after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now mostly overlooked while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his approach and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An dedicated student, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against human bondage and rose to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the period. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was chosen to the legislative branch, where he would work as a political representative for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, delegates, 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 satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for 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 brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. 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 political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Disturbed Mind

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 wanderer with a record of career disappointments, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, bill collector, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for importance. He actually had superior economic background 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 drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had earned a high-level government job. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a problem that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an weapon from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

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