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Throughout history, the family members of the 20th US president shared stories about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” reflects one of his family members. “We read about the story in publications but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, starring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an event now frequently ignored while the killings of the Civil War president and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things 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 final national leader 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 hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against forced servitude and rose to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the Congress, where he would function as a party member for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership 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 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a compromise. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. 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 confrontation turned into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the problematic element of the spoils network. The gunman was a unstable individual with a record of occupational setbacks, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, religious figure 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 succeeded and advanced, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the events of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had merited a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an weapon from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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