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Over many years, the heirs of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now resulted in a streaming series titled the historical drama, starring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the economic era only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the killings of President Lincoln and JFK 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 agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his behavior and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an education.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against forced servitude and progressed to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the period. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the Congress, where he would serve as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, representatives, 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 unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield overcame the opposing candidate to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness 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 entirely ignored the possibility but he was forced into the role.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation turned into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats 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 “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the problematic element of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, financial agent, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. 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. Carried away in the excitement of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had earned a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau emerged from hiding, produced an handgun from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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