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Throughout history, the heirs of James Garfield discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” reflects one of his living relatives. “We read about the story in publications but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now resulted in a streaming series titled the historical drama, starring Michael Shannon as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the historical period only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an event now mostly overlooked while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against slavery and advanced to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the era. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a party member for multiple terms. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this matter was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “political group”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency 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, representatives began searching for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation turned into a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was confirmed. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the party machine and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who represented the problematic element of the patronage system. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that religious calling 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 at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the drama of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had merited a prestigious position. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield cried out: “Why is this occurring?” and dropped on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law