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Over many years, the family members of James Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” explains one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now led to a streaming series titled the presidential series, starring Michael Shannon as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the historical period only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was truncated after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now largely forgotten while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also formed his character and his behavior and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against forced servitude and rose to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the era. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for 17 years. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a conflict agreement.

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

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began searching for a solution. Garfield's emotional address supporting Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, 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 running mate. In the national vote Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“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 completely dismissed it but he was forced into the role.”

The major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the political organization and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Assassin 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 negative aspect of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a record of career disappointments, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, bill collector, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had merited a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield cried out: “What's happening?” and collapsed on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law