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Over many years, the descendants of James Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” explains one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in publications but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now led to a television production titled the historical drama, including a talented performer as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor 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 deep political rifts. His presidency was cut short after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an incident now largely forgotten while the killings of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

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

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, 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 political representative. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a righteous fight against human bondage and progressed to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a political representative for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for military hero, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began searching for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech supporting Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual 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 defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the dark side of the political appointment process. The assassin was a unstable individual with a history of professional failures, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a important role. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a problem that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “What's happening?” and fell on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law