🔗 Share this article

Over many years, the heirs of James Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in books but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now led to a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, featuring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was ended prematurely 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 JFK continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and his behavior and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against slavery and rose to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was elected to the Congress, where he would work as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a conflict agreement.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will affect you emotionally. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “political group”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about 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 major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the negative aspect of the political appointment process. The assassin was a drifter with a background of career disappointments, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, financial agent, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for importance. 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 eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the drama of the political contest, he prepared and gave an minor oration, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a important role. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and assassinated the leader in the back.

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