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 hapless 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 is ways few people today grasp.

Offers a brief overview of the life and work of President James Garfield, as well as profiling the life and motivation of his assassin, Charles Guiteau.

Abraham Lincoln watched a play. James Garfield walked through a train station. William McKinley shook hands with his public. John Kennedy smiled and waved from a motorcade. In these moments shots rang out and four presidents suffered mortal wounds. Some say their assassins were calculating killers. Others say they were madmen guided by strange notions of the world. Assassins’ America examines the lives of each killer and his victim. Their stories are full of twists and mysteries, and even today Americans live with lasting effects of these terrible crimes.

Examines one of America's lesser-known presidents, his assassination, and the life of Charles Guiteau, who killed him.