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Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield 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,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, featuring Michael Shannon as the national leader and his co-star as the wanderer who shot him.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the historical period only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the assassinations of the Civil War president and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and how he was and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against slavery and rose to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was elected to the Congress, where he would function as a party member for 17 years. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began seeking a solution. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield beat the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual 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 thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of customs official. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation turned into a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the faction system and for the change movement over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the problematic element of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a background of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, debt recovery agent, religious figure 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 financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the events of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had deserved a prestigious position. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an handgun from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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