🔗 Share this article

For generations, the heirs of James Garfield spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a transportation hub,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in books but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now inspired a television production titled the presidential series, starring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who shot him.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and how he was and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to support a large family in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against forced servitude and progressed to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a party member for multiple terms. He was dedicated proponent of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a military promise.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman won them over. 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 multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the general election Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe special for the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments 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 executive of the United States”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was confirmed. It was a landmark victory for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the change movement over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the dark side of the patronage system. The assassin was a wanderer with a history of career disappointments, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield cried out: “Why is this occurring?” and dropped on the station floor. When a {police officer|law