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Over many years, the heirs of the 20th US president shared stories about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” explains one of his family members. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now led to a television production titled the historical drama, including a talented performer as the national leader and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His tenure was cut short after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by doctor errors – an incident now largely forgotten while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and how he was and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against human bondage and advanced to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was innovative for the time. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a party member for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “political group”, 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 huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, 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 unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe particular about the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the problematic element of the political appointment process. The gunman was a drifter with a history of professional failures, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had failed as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a high-level government job. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an weapon from his clothing and assassinated the leader in the back.

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