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Over many years, the heirs of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” reflects one of his living relatives. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, starring a talented performer as the president and his co-star as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an event now largely forgotten while the killings of the Civil War president and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his behavior and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an education.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against human bondage and rose to the military position.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman caught their attention. 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 wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting 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 executive authority over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the negative aspect of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a drifter with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, financial agent, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the political contest, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a high-level government job. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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