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Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in books but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now led to a television production titled the historical drama, including Michael Shannon as the president and another skilled actor as the wanderer who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the historical period only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an event now largely forgotten while the assassinations of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and his approach and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became head of a school in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a former classmate, his partner, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against forced servitude and rose to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the era. He was kind. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a party member for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “political group”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for military hero, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a compromise. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe particular about the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a rival of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the dark side of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a record of professional failures, emotional issues and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the drama of the presidential race, he created and presented an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a high-level government job. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau emerged from hiding, produced an weapon from his jacket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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