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For generations, the heirs of President Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in publications but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, including a talented performer as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now frequently ignored while the assassinations of President Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to captivate 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 shaped who he was and his behavior and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a righteous fight against forced servitude and advanced to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was innovative for the time. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the Congress, where he would work as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“His oration on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for military hero, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a solution. Garfield's emotional address 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 unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“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 forced into the role.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his associate left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the political organization 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 disturbed and delusional man who represented the dark side of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a history of career disappointments, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, bill collector, religious figure and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law