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For generations, the family members of President Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but avoided talking about his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” explains one of his family members. “We read about the story in publications but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now resulted in a streaming series titled the presidential series, featuring a talented performer as the national leader and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the historical period only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His presidency was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by doctor errors – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the deaths of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and how he was and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against slavery and progressed to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the Congress, where he would function as a party member for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a solution. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. 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 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the sole representative of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the problematic element of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had failed as a attorney, bill collector, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the drama of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had deserved a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack 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 transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “What's happening?” and collapsed on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law