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Throughout history, the descendants of James Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but seldom discussed his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a transportation hub,” explains one of his family members. “We read about the story in books but, for various reasons, 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. The book has now led to a television production titled the historical drama, featuring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and his approach and all the information about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against forced servitude and progressed to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by President Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was elected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech supporting Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the problematic element of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a drifter with a record of career disappointments, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a attorney, bill collector, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion 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 was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the drama of the presidential race, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a high-level government job. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket 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