For generations, the heirs of President Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his violent end. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in books but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”
This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now led to a television production titled the presidential series, featuring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief 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 toxic political divisions. His presidency was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.
“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and his approach and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”
Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an schooling.
He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against forced servitude and rose to the rank of major general.
“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the period. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”
Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a party member for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a conflict agreement.
“His oration on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”
At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.
When the huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a compromise. Garfield's emotional address supporting Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”
On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the shocking choice. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the sole representative of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.
“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon 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 pushed toward it.”
The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.
The dispute escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.
But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual 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 early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.
“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”
But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the drama of the political contest, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.
Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had earned a high-level government job. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.
On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an handgun from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.
Garfield shouted: “What's happening?” and collapsed on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law
Rashid Al-Mansoori is a tech journalist with over a decade of experience covering innovations and digital transformations in the Middle East.
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