🔗 Share this article

For generations, the descendants of President Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” explains one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now inspired a television production titled the presidential series, starring an acclaimed actor as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who shot him.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the assassinations of President Lincoln and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also formed his character and his behavior and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an education.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against forced servitude and rose to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the era. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to leave army service when he was chosen to the legislative branch, where he would serve as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“His oration on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address supporting Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, 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 shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield beat the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements 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 pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who represented the dark side of the spoils network. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he moved through the transportation center, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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