President James Garfield was walking through a train station when a
gunman shot him in the back. A mad scene erupted as Garfield bled on the
floor and a crowd surrounded the shooter. Who was this strange man and
why had he shot the new president? The answers to those questions became
clear as Garfield lay wounded, fighting for life while misguided doctors
did more harm than good. In a drama that stretched for weeks, the United
States saw a second president die from an assassin's bullet. And
although it lasted only months, the presidency of James Garfield changed
his country in ways few people today grasp.