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Over many years, the heirs of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” notes one of his family members. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now inspired a streaming series titled the presidential series, featuring Michael Shannon as the president and his co-star as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was truncated after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by doctor errors – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the killings of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an education.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against slavery and rose to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the time. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to leave army service when he was elected to the legislative branch, where he would serve as a political representative for 17 years. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was very important to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his close associate John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a solution. Garfield's emotional address supporting Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the general election Garfield beat the Democratic nominee to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was forced into the role.”

The defining conflict 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 port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

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 negative aspect of the spoils network. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a record of professional failures, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“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 more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an minor oration, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had earned a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had no experience. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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