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Throughout history, the family members of James Garfield shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, including Michael Shannon as the president and his co-star as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series promises to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the economic era only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was truncated after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by doctor errors – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was so many things which also formed his character and his approach and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an schooling.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a former classmate, his partner, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against forced servitude and advanced to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the era. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the Congress, where he would work as a party member for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a military promise.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a solution. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness 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 completely dismissed it but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the political organization and for the cause of reform 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 exemplified the dark side of the spoils network. The assassin was a unstable individual with a background of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a legal professional, financial agent, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a important role. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a role for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield shouted: “Why is this occurring?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law