🔗 Share this article

Throughout history, the descendants of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” notes one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in publications but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, including a talented performer as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the economic era only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the killings of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his behavior and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against slavery and rose to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the period. He was kind. 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 President Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the Congress, where he would function as a political representative for 17 years. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a conflict agreement.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, 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, delegates began seeking a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe particular about 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 defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the dark side of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a history of career disappointments, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the political contest, he created and presented an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had earned a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an handgun from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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