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Throughout history, the heirs of James Garfield spoke proudly about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” explains one of his family members. “We read about the story in publications but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The publication has now inspired a television production titled the presidential series, featuring an acclaimed actor as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the assassinations of Abraham 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 preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and his behavior and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to make funds for an education.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against forced servitude and progressed to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the period. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a Republican for 17 years. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for military hero, and the “rival group”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position 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 nation's leader”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the change movement over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the negative aspect of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a background of occupational setbacks, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, religious figure and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the events of the presidential race, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had earned a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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