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For generations, the descendants of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” explains one of his family members. “We studied the story in publications but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now inspired a television production titled the historical drama, starring Michael Shannon as the national leader and his co-star as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now mostly overlooked while the killings of the Civil War president 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 minister, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and how he was and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an schooling.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against slavery and rose to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was kind. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was elected to the Congress, where he would serve as a party member for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “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 stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield beat the Democratic nominee to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe special for the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position 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 presidential authority”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the faction system 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 followed by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the dark side of the patronage system. The assassin was a wanderer with a background of occupational setbacks, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, financial agent, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the events of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding 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 banned from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an weapon from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “My God, what is this?” and dropped on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law