Exposing the Tragic Story Within Netflix's Latest Historical Drama

Throughout history, the heirs of President Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The publication has now inspired a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, starring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the economic era only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was truncated after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now frequently ignored while the deaths of the Civil War president and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and his behavior and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an schooling.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against forced servitude and advanced to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the time. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to leave army service when he was chosen to the Congress, where he would function as a Republican for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this matter was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “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 placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. 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 dispute became a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the change movement over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who represented the problematic element of the patronage system. The assassin was a wanderer with a background of professional failures, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, bill collector, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had deserved a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an weapon from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield cried out: “Why is this occurring?” and collapsed on the station floor. When a {police officer|law