Revealing the Heartbreaking Reality Within the Streaming Giant's Latest Historical Drama

For generations, the descendants of James Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” reflects one of his family members. “We learned about the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now resulted in a television production titled the historical drama, including an acclaimed actor as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who shot him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His time in office was truncated after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an event now largely forgotten while the killings of President Lincoln and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and how he was and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an schooling.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against forced servitude and progressed to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the time. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a party member for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a wartime covenant.

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

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for military hero, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield beat the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Short Presidency and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post 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 selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who represented the negative aspect of the patronage system. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the drama of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had merited a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an weapon from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

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