🔗 Share this article

Throughout history, the heirs of President Garfield spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” explains one of his living relatives. “We read about the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention 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 publication has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, starring a talented performer as the president and his co-star as the drifter who shot him.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the economic era only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an incident now frequently ignored while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and how he was and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against human bondage and advanced to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the era. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the Congress, where he would serve as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for military hero, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman impressed them. 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 rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the general election Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare 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 major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation turned into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the political organization and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who exemplified the dark side of the spoils network. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a background of career disappointments, emotional issues and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, bill collector, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that God had chosen him 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 finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the drama of the presidential race, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had earned a high-level government job. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an weapon from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “My God, what is this?” and collapsed on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law