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Over many years, the heirs of James Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his violent end. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, starring an acclaimed actor as the president and his co-star as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the economic era only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His presidency was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an event now mostly overlooked 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 lawyer, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and his approach and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money 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 entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against human bondage and rose to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was innovative for the period. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for 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 major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the party machine and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Killer and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who represented the negative aspect of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a record of professional failures, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had failed as a lawyer, bill collector, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a important role. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — 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 Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

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