🔗 Share this article

Throughout history, the heirs of President Garfield spoke proudly about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled the historical drama, starring Michael Shannon as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series promises to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the economic era only to succumb to its deep political rifts. His presidency was truncated after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the assassinations of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and his approach and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in challenging conditions. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats 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 previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a righteous fight against human bondage and rose to the military position.

“During my investigation, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a political representative for multiple terms. He was dedicated proponent of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

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

On the extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great 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 forced into the role.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position 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 political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the dark side of the patronage system. The assassin was a wanderer with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, financial agent, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was false belief. 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 way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the drama of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a important role. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an handgun from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and fell on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law