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Throughout history, the family members of the 20th US president shared stories about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” notes one of his family members. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, featuring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and another skilled actor as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was truncated after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an event now largely forgotten while the deaths of the Civil War president and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his approach and all the information about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An dedicated student, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an schooling.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against forced servitude and advanced to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the time. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was elected to the Congress, where he would serve as a party member for 17 years. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, 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 placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield beat the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a rival of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the political organization and for the change movement over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the dark side of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a history of occupational setbacks, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, financial agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for greatness. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had earned a high-level government job. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, insisting to be made the diplomatic representative — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an weapon from his jacket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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