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For generations, the heirs of James Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in books but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now led to a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, starring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and his co-star as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the economic era only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was cut short after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by doctor errors – an incident now largely forgotten while the deaths of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect 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 how he was and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have a large family. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against human bondage and progressed to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a solution. Garfield's powerful oration supporting Sherman caught their attention. 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 extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the sole representative of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe unique to 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 major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Facing 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 executive authority over the party machine and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who represented the negative aspect of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a attorney, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the drama of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a important role. 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 nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an handgun from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

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