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Throughout history, the heirs of President Garfield discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but seldom discussed his violent end. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” explains one of his family members. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, starring an acclaimed actor as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the economic era only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by doctor errors – an incident now frequently ignored while the deaths of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and how he was and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against slavery and rose to the military position.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the period. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a Republican for 17 years. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a military promise.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address supporting Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the sole representative of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Short Presidency and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe special for the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was forced into the role.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the problematic element of the patronage system. The assassin was a drifter with a record of occupational setbacks, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, bill collector, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the events of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a problem that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he moved through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an weapon from his jacket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield shouted: “My God, what is this?” and dropped on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law