🔗 Share this article

For generations, the family members of James Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled the presidential series, featuring Michael Shannon as the national leader and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the historical period only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was cut short after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an event now mostly overlooked while the killings of the Civil War president and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his behavior and all the information about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an formal learning.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against human bondage and rose to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the period. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a party member for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this matter was very important to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the faction was deeply divided between the “Stalwarts”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech supporting Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was forced into the role.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the problematic element of the political appointment process. The assassin was a drifter with a background of occupational setbacks, mental instability and childhood trauma. 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 false belief. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the 1880 election, 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 logic, Guiteau calculated he had earned a important role. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance 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 educational gathering. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an handgun from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “My God, what is this?” and collapsed on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law