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Throughout history, the heirs of President Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a transportation hub,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now inspired a television production titled the historical drama, starring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and his co-star as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was ended prematurely after only half a year not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an incident now mostly overlooked while the assassinations of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a farmer. He was so many things which also formed his character and how he was and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An dedicated student, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against forced servitude and advanced to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. 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.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was elected to the Congress, where he would function as a party member for 17 years. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the realization of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began searching for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee 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 Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Short Presidency and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was forced into the role.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the faction system and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a psychologically troubled person who represented the problematic element of the political appointment process. The gunman was a wanderer with a history of professional failures, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was emotionally unstable and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the drama of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

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