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For generations, the family members of the 20th US president discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but seldom discussed his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now led to a television production titled the historical drama, featuring a talented performer as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was ended prematurely after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an event now largely forgotten while the killings of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his approach and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against slavery and rose to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the period. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was very important to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the faction was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for military hero, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a compromise. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “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 surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about the American presidency is he didn't want the job. 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 disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the negative aspect of the political appointment process. The gunman was a wanderer with a record of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had failed as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for greatness. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the events of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had merited a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an handgun from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “What's happening?” and collapsed on the station floor. When a {police officer|law