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Throughout history, the family members of the 20th US president discussed openly about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a transportation hub,” reflects one of his family members. “We studied the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled the historical drama, featuring Michael Shannon as the president and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was cut short after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an tragedy 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 a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his approach and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels 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 wed a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, 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 found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the era. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a political representative for 17 years. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will affect you emotionally. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the faction was deeply divided between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

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

On the extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

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

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his associate left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the problematic element of the spoils network. The gunman was a wanderer with a record of career disappointments, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, bill collector, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling 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 pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had deserved a high-level government job. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and fell on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law