🔗 Share this article

Over many years, the heirs of President Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now resulted in a television production titled the presidential series, starring a talented performer as the national leader and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the economic era 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 doctor errors – an incident now frequently ignored while the deaths of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and how he was and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an education.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a former classmate, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against slavery and rose to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the time. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for 17 years. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

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

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments 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 political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation turned into a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his associate left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a landmark victory for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the negative aspect of the spoils network. The assassin was a unstable individual with a background of occupational setbacks, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill 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 progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the drama of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had merited a prestigious position. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an weapon from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

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