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For generations, the heirs of the 20th US president discussed openly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” notes one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now led to a television production titled the presidential series, including an acclaimed actor as the president and his co-star as the drifter who shot him.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by doctor errors – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the assassinations of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to intrigue 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 farmer. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and his approach and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against slavery and progressed to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the time. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a party member for 17 years. He was dedicated proponent of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a military promise.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address supporting Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to 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 central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the prestigious role of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who represented the problematic element of the political appointment process. The assassin was a wanderer with a history of career disappointments, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, financial agent, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the events of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau calculated he had merited a important role. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an handgun from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield cried out: “Why is this occurring?” and dropped on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law