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Over many years, the descendants of James Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” notes one of his family members. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now inspired a streaming series titled the historical drama, including an acclaimed actor as the president and his co-star as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the historical period only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and how he was and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an education.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against forced servitude and rose to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the period. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was elected to the legislative branch, where he would work as a party member for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements 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 entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a landmark victory for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who represented the negative aspect of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a drifter with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a legal professional, financial agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had merited a important role. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a problem 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 traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield shouted: “My God, what is this?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law