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For generations, the family members of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” explains one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in books but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now led to a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, including a talented performer as the national leader and his co-star as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the economic era only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was ended prematurely after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an incident now mostly overlooked while the deaths of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and how he was and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats 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 wed a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against human bondage and advanced to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was remarkably smart. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the era. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the Congress, where he would function as a political representative for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a military promise.

“His oration on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech supporting 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 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about 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 defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Facing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the dark side of the spoils network. The assassin was a unstable individual with a record of professional failures, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a attorney, financial agent, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the drama of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had earned a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his educational gathering. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

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