🔗 Share this article

Over many years, the heirs of President Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but seldom discussed his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a transportation hub,” explains one of his family members. “We learned about the story in publications but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now inspired a television production titled the historical drama, featuring Michael Shannon as the president and his co-star as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by doctor errors – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the deaths of President Lincoln and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his approach and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against forced servitude and advanced to the military position.

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

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the Congress, where he would function as a party member for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported political contender. 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, delegates began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration supporting Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield overcame the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the party machine and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the dark side of the spoils network. The assassin was a unstable individual with a history of career disappointments, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

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

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his educational gathering. As he moved through the transportation center, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an handgun from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “My God, what is this?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law