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Throughout history, the descendants of President Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, starring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was truncated after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the assassinations of the Civil War president and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his approach and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against forced servitude and progressed to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the era. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who represented the dark side of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a drifter with a record of career disappointments, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, bill collector, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that divine selection 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 at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the drama of the presidential race, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had merited a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an weapon from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and collapsed on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law