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Over many years, the heirs of James Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” notes one of his family members. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now inspired a television production titled the historical drama, featuring Michael Shannon as the national leader and another skilled actor as the wanderer who shot him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was truncated after only half a year not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an event now largely forgotten while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his approach and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an education.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a former classmate, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against forced servitude and progressed to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the time. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to leave army service when he was elected to the Congress, where he would work as a party member for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was forced into the role.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling insisted on authority 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 nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Killer and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the problematic element of the political appointment process. The assassin was a drifter with a record of occupational setbacks, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, financial agent, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the events of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had deserved a prestigious position. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield cried out: “My God, what is this?” and collapsed on the station floor. When a {police officer|law