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For generations, the descendants of James Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” notes one of his family members. “We studied the story in books but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now led to a television production titled the presidential series, starring a talented performer as the national leader and another skilled actor as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was cut short after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now mostly overlooked while the deaths of Abraham 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 lawyer, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and his behavior and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against forced servitude and rose to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the time. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a Republican for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began seeking a compromise. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield beat the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was forced into the role.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who represented the dark side of the political appointment process. The assassin was a unstable individual with a record of occupational setbacks, emotional issues and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, financial agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the events of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had deserved a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington 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 problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield shouted: “What's happening?” and dropped on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law