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Throughout history, the heirs of President Garfield discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his violent end. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” explains one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in books but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now led to a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, featuring a talented performer as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was cut short after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by doctor errors – an event now frequently ignored while the deaths of the Civil War president and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and how he was and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to support a large family in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a former classmate, his partner, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against forced servitude and advanced to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the time. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was chosen to the Congress, where he would serve as a political representative for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was deeply divided between the “Stalwarts”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman won them over. 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 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the dark side of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a record of career disappointments, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the drama of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had earned a prestigious position. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an handgun from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “My God, what is this?” and collapsed on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law