🔗 Share this article

Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but avoided talking about his violent end. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in publications but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now led to a television production titled the historical drama, starring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and his co-star as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the economic era only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an event now largely forgotten while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also formed his character and how he was and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an education.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against forced servitude and advanced to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the period. He was kind. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a Republican for multiple terms. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's powerful oration supporting Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, representatives, 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 appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was pushed toward it.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his clash 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 declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be 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 public failure, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the party machine and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Killer and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the problematic element of the political appointment process. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was delusion. 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 could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had earned a important role. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an weapon from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “What's happening?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law