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Over many years, the heirs of the 20th US president discussed openly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his violent end. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” explains one of his living relatives. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled the presidential series, including an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the economic era only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was truncated after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an event now mostly overlooked while the deaths of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and his approach and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against forced servitude and progressed to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the period. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was selected to the Congress, where he would serve as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the realization 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 extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured 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 close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began searching for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the political organization and for the change movement over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who represented the problematic element of the patronage system. The assassin was a drifter with a background of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the events of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had deserved a important role. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital 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: “Why is this occurring?” and dropped on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law