🔗 Share this article

Throughout history, the family members of James Garfield spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” explains one of his family members. “We studied the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now resulted in a streaming series titled the historical drama, including an acclaimed actor as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was truncated after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by doctor errors – an event now largely forgotten while the assassinations of the Civil War president and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and his behavior and the complete story 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 the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to support a large family in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an education.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became head of a school in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against forced servitude and rose to the military position.

“During my investigation, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the era. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was deeply divided between the “political group”, 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 stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness 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 entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling insisted on authority over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the negative aspect of the spoils network. The gunman was a wanderer with a record of occupational setbacks, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, bill collector, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a important role. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On the tragic date, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield cried out: “What's happening?” and collapsed on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law