Unveiling the Tragic Truth Within Netflix's Latest Historical Drama

Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” notes one of his family members. “We read about the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now inspired a streaming series titled the presidential series, including an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was truncated after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an event now largely forgotten while the deaths of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his behavior and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An dedicated student, Garfield found employment on vessels to make funds for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against human bondage and progressed to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the period. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a Republican for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was deeply divided between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began searching for a solution. Garfield's powerful oration proposing 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 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation turned into a visible struggle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the political organization and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the dark side of the political appointment process. The assassin was a wanderer with a background of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had failed as a attorney, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for greatness. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, he created and presented an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a prestigious position. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an handgun from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

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