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For generations, the family members of the 20th US president discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his violent end. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in books but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now resulted in a streaming series titled the presidential series, starring Michael Shannon as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now largely forgotten while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also formed his character and his approach and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against forced servitude and progressed to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the time. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the Congress, where he would serve as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began seeking a solution. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member 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 political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the negative aspect of the spoils network. The assassin was a drifter with a background of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, bill collector, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the events of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had earned a high-level government job. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he moved through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an handgun from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and dropped on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law