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Throughout history, the family members of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now resulted in a streaming series titled the presidential series, including Michael Shannon as the national leader and his co-star as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His presidency was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the assassinations of President Lincoln and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and his approach and all the information about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against slavery and advanced to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the legislative branch, where he would serve as a party member for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a military promise.

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

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman impressed them. 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 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Short Presidency and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who represented the dark side of the political appointment process. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, 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 prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an handgun from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

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