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Over many years, the family members of James Garfield shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his violent end. 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 books but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, featuring a talented performer as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the economic era only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by doctor errors – an event now largely forgotten while the killings of President 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 attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and how he was and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away 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 generate income for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, his partner, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against slavery and progressed to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a party member for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“His oration on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a solution. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the general election Garfield beat the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation 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 “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He proposed a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a landmark victory for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who represented the dark side of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a legal professional, financial agent, religious figure and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the drama of the presidential race, he created and presented an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a high-level government job. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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