🔗 Share this article

Throughout history, the family members of James Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled the presidential series, featuring a talented performer as the president and his co-star as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the historical period only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an event now mostly overlooked while the killings of the Civil War president and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and his approach and all the information about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became head of a school in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against slavery and rose to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a party member for multiple terms. 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 legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “political group”, 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 advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address supporting Sherman caught their attention. 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 extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of customs official. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became 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 executive authority over the faction system and for the change movement over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the negative aspect of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a history of occupational setbacks, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, insisting 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 Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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