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Over many years, the family members of the 20th US president discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” explains one of his family members. “We read about the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now led to a streaming series titled the historical drama, including an acclaimed actor as the national leader and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the economic era only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was ended prematurely after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an incident now largely forgotten while the killings of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was so many things which also formed his character and how he was and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against human bondage and progressed to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the period. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to leave army service when he was chosen to the legislative branch, where he would function as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a compromise. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield beat the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was forced into the role.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. 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 “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a visible struggle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the problematic element of the spoils network. The assassin was a drifter with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, bill collector, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was emotionally unstable and his particular brand of madness was false belief. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the drama of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a high-level government job. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an handgun from his clothing and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield shouted: “What's happening?” and collapsed on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law