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Over many years, the family members of President Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now led to a television production titled the historical drama, including an acclaimed actor as the national leader and another skilled actor as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the historical period only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was truncated after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the deaths of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also formed his character and his behavior and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against forced servitude and rose to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. 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.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a political representative for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, representatives, 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 shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare and maybe special for the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a visible struggle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a psychologically troubled person who represented the negative aspect of the political appointment process. The assassin was a drifter with a history of career disappointments, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, bill collector, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for significance. 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 pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the drama of the 1880 election, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had deserved a important role. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an handgun from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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