🔗 Share this article

For generations, the family members of President Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in books but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, featuring Michael Shannon as the president and another skilled actor as the drifter who shot him.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the historical period only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the assassinations of the Civil War president and JFK continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a farmer. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and his behavior and all the information about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an schooling.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against human bondage and progressed to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was remarkably smart. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the time. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, 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 placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the dark side of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, financial agent, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was emotionally unstable and his particular brand of madness was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the events of the presidential race, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had earned a important role. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “What's happening?” and fell on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law