🔗 Share this article

Throughout history, the heirs of President Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now led to a television production titled the historical drama, starring an acclaimed actor as the president and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the historical period only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was cut short after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an incident now frequently ignored while the assassinations of President Lincoln and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his behavior and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against human bondage and progressed to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a party member for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a solution. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “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 wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the general election Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual 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 pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the dark side of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a record of occupational setbacks, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, bill collector, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the events of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had merited a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an weapon from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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