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Throughout history, the family members of the 20th US president shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” reflects one of his living relatives. “We read about the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now inspired a television production titled the historical drama, starring a talented performer as the president and his co-star as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the economic era only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only half a year not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the deaths of the Civil War president and JFK continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a righteous fight against forced servitude and advanced to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was innovative for the time. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was chosen to the Congress, where he would work as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech supporting Sherman won them over. 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 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe particular about the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was forced into the role.”

The defining conflict 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 influential position of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a visible struggle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the dark side of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had failed as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the events of the 1880 election, he created and presented an minor oration, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

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

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

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