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For generations, the family members of James Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but seldom discussed his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now led to a television production titled the historical drama, including Michael Shannon as the president and his co-star as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the economic era only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his behavior and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against slavery and progressed to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the era. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a party member for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began seeking a compromise. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe special for the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was forced into the role.”

The major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a visible struggle 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 nominee was approved. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who represented the problematic element of the political appointment process. The assassin was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, bill collector, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for significance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the events of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had earned a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an handgun from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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