🔗 Share this article

For generations, the descendants of James Garfield spoke proudly about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” notes one of his living relatives. “We read about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now led to a Netflix drama titled the historical drama, starring an acclaimed actor as the president and another skilled actor as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the economic era only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was cut short after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by doctor errors – an event now largely forgotten while the killings of the Civil War president and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and how he was and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against slavery and advanced to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the era. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

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 party member for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this matter was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address supporting Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was forced into the role.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who exemplified the problematic element of the patronage system. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of career disappointments, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that religious calling 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 at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the events of the political contest, he created and presented an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a prestigious position. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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