Also the mini-series needs to devote enough time on how maybe Garfield didn't have to die but the doctors were so horribly bad at what they did that they likely did more than the actual bullet did in killing him.
It will, if it's faithful to the book from which it is supposedly adapted.
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President is an excellent book. In it, a number of different story lines are weaved together including:
a) a "cliff notes" biography of Garfield;
b) his unlikely nomination and election;
c) the presidential appointment process which may have played a role in Guiteau's decision to murder Garfield;
d) the abhorrent medical care Garfield received; and
e) the efforts of Alexander Graham Bell to invent a machine which would locate the bullet inside Garfield's body.
The last three threads are fascinating, especially Bell's efforts (which likely would have succeeded but for Garfield's doctors), and the appointment process. At that time, once the President was elected, people literally showed up at the White House, asked for an appointment with the President, made their pitch for whatever job they wanted, then waited to hear.
It's sort of mind boggling, until you realize that it's pretty much the exact same system used by the present administration.
bsky.app
