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For generations, the heirs of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in books but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now led to a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, featuring an acclaimed actor as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the historical period only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was truncated after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now frequently ignored while the deaths of President Lincoln and JFK continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his behavior and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to make funds for an schooling.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against slavery and rose to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a Republican for 17 years. He was dedicated proponent of African American voting rights, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will affect you emotionally. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

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

On the 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. 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

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post 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 executive of the United States”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the political organization and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Killer 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 exemplified the dark side of the spoils network. The assassin was a unstable individual with a background of career disappointments, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had failed as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. 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 at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Carried away 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 thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had deserved a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, 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 Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an weapon from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “What's happening?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law